


Somethin’ Like Soulmates

by Chuchiwan



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abusive Parents, Abusive Relationships, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alpha Crowley, Alpha Dean Winchester, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Anxiety, Beta Castiel, Claiming Bites, Crimes, Dean has horrible one liners, Family Drama, Fear of self, Heats, Hurt/Comfort, Knotting, Lawyer Sam Winchester, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Meeting the parent, Omega Sam Winchester, Pie, Sam lives as a Beta, Scent Marking, Self-Hating Sam Winchester, Slow Burn, medication abuse, mentions of past molestation, ruts, scent blocking, sprinkling of mpreg in the later chapters, too many tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-03-04 05:36:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 60
Words: 101,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13357611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chuchiwan/pseuds/Chuchiwan
Summary: Sam is an Omega who is the furthest thing from the “typical omega” concept. He’s tall, muscular, and has trained himself to not be submissive. He has been living as beta for so long, hiding his true nature, that he has isolated himself from forming any form of relationship.Dean has been trying to stay afloat for years. But a shattered family past has left him numb to the idea that someone might actually like him or that it’s okay for him to like someone.Something like fate keeps pushing these two together and it starts to become clear that they just might be meant for each other.





	1. Same Ol' Same Ol'

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~ this is my first (posted) Supernatural story, so yay! I tried something different for this one compared to ones I’ve done in the past; I wrote the whole thing out before I posted any of it. There will be 60 chapters to this story with me posting a new chapter (hopefully) every other day. 
> 
> Well, without further ado, enjoy~

Dean threw himself into the pleather seating of the bar’s dining area. It was three o’clock and he waited goddamn long enough to take his lunch break. It was no picnic supplying the midday alcoholics with their drinks _and_ making sure they pay their seemingly endless tabs before they took off. Not that he could say he was much of a good example of a sober, well off thirty year old- heck, if he wasn't working the bar, he was sitting at it ordering a scotch.

He let out a long, tired sigh. Taking in the two beta chicks at the bar. They certainly were new. He would have remembered those rocking hips and pretty face. If only they belonged to the same girl. 

A male beta in a tan trench coat blocked out his view. Dean knew who it was and would have given his friend a dirty look for blocking his view but the brown paper sack in the other’s hand made him grin.

“You are a god sent.” Dean groaned in relief as he took the bag from Castiel's hand. The beta offered an amused smile and sat down across from Dean. He ignored the Alpha’s moans of pleasure as he unwrapped the hamburger and took a deep breath of the greasy meat smell. He was used to it after eleven years of hanging out with Dean.

“So I've been told. How's work been?”

The Alpha shrugged and mumbled out between bites “Same ol’ same ol’.” There was a long silence between them masked by the quiet music playing in the back of the bar and the occasional murmur of a conversation between the bar patrons. Benny was chatting with the two beta women now. Dean wrinkled his nose at the other Alpha’s pheromones entering his breathing area but gave another tired sigh and just crumpled up the empty burger wrapper. It fell to the table with a nearly silent crunching sound.

Castiel, who couldn't smell Benny’s lust, turned to follow Dean's begrudging gaze and took one look at the bartender leaning over the counter to the two ladies and knew right away what Dean was thinking. “You don’t need that. You need to look for someone you can have stable relationship with, Dean. You just haven't been looking in the right place.”

With a huff of a laugh, Dean gave Cas a look as if to say “are you kidding me right now?” Before leaning back to get more comfortable in the not so comfy seating of his workplace. “Who said I was even looking for anybody like that right now?- and if I were, trust me. I’d already be with someone.” It was the beta sitting across from him’s turn to give the look, but this one simply read as pity and sympathy and that kinda pissed Dean off.

“Look, I just got my own place, I have a pretty good job- besides the occasional grope or barf-fest - and my dad decided to come back into my life. I think I've got all I need at the moment.” He paused shifted his head back and forth, weighing his opinions and then continued with a hint of reluctance “Maybe… down the road I'll look for a mate- but that's a maybe.”

Dean was somewhat glad that his friend couldn't smell the longing and desperation he was sure he reeked of. No doubt Benny could smell him but he was a good friend and would probably pretend he never knew. That was one thing that let them get along so well, neither asked questions and there was an unspoken discretion agreement whenever one of them noticed something that they obviously did not want to talk about.

Cas, well… he was just about the most opposite of Benny you could get. Dean and him had been best friends for the the last eleven years- ever since Dean had ended up in Lawrence Kansas, no place to stay, only the clothes on his back, and his dad’s old impala, totally out of gas- and when it came to Dean rather not talking about his “feelings” Cas seemed to never take a hint. Most often the beta would pry the answers for his questions from the alpha without even knowing he was prying. It was all okay, though. Dean would never admit it but without Cas and his annoying personal questions he probably would be in a lot worse of a situation than he was in now.

Castiel gave him an understanding smile and stood, straightening his jacket , and put a hand on Dean's shoulder as he started past the table “I'm sure you'll find somebody soon- and if not, I know someone that's in the same position as you, if you’re interested” Dean shook his head roughly and took a big gulp of his soda, wishing it was a beer. “Yeah, nice try, Cas. Not gonna happen.”

“It was worth a shot. Well, I'm back to the office. I just thought I'd bring you lunch on my way back.” Dean did some ambiguous hand gesture that could only be described as a lazyass salute- Dean didn't even know what the hell he had done “Thanks. Call me after you escape from that hellhole of yours if you wanna hang out.” Cas waved with a small smile before he pushed out into the much brighter daylight closed off by the tinted windows. 

There was still three minutes of his break left, but now there was a sour taste in his mouth. He gathered up his garbage and went over to the trash to toss it. With that finished off, he headed back to work. It was best not to let his mind wander too far from work. Especially if it was planning on wandering down ‘that’ path. Nothing good could come from it.

Six o’clock rolled around and Benny told him he “best be gettin’ out of my bar before I haul your ass out of here myself” which was Benny for ‘You were suppose to head home an hour ago. Go home and get some sleep’ either way, Dean got the message and raised his hands in surrender after he slipped his old leather jacket on. Benny gave him a grin and a wave from behind the bar. Dean gave a raised hand in reply as he turned towards the double doors. “Have a g’night, brother.” Benny called after him and so did a choir of the early drunks of the evening and a few of the buzzed locals that hung around.

Outside was a humid night. The sun was somewhere just beyond the buildings, sulking away into the darkness for the day only to rear its overly hot presence tomorrow morning. A woman- omega- bumped past him and quickly apologized but he waved her off, really only paying attention half-heartedly to her. She was bonded already after all. Dean didn't make a thing of getting with already claimed chicks- or omegas, for that matter.

His apartment must have been no more than a block from his work. He supposed he would walk even if this stretch of road could get particularly rowdy on the weekends. He wasn't much for blatantly bragging but after the shit his father raised him to do, he was pretty sure he could hold his own against some wannabe pick-pockets. His car would be in the apartment complex garage, waiting for him to stop having stupid ideas like walking to work and drive her tomorrow.

A text vibrated off his phone and he pulled up his phone to check.

CAS: “Won't be able to make it tonight. Crowley wants me to read the latest growth statistics over and correct Kevin’s spelling mistakes.”

Dean shook his head at this.

DEAN: “kidz perfect at math but can't spell 4shit. Called it.”

The response was almost instant 

CAS: “you're telling me. But I am hoping that he is only nervous on his first day working for someone like Crowley.”

DEAN: “well, alright. I'll text you later then”

Guess that meant he was alone for the night. But that was fine, better than fine, really. It meant that he could get drunk in peace without Cas bitching about how he shouldn't drink ‘til he dropped. If he thought about it (which he was not wanting to) he had serious problems that should be talked about. But if there was one thing positive he learned growing up with a dad like John Winchester was that it was better to keep your problems to yourself so you wouldn't bring others down with you.


	2. Mr. Campbell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter was Dean’s introduction, now here is Sam’s. Enjoy~

Sam stood in front of the bathroom mirror of the office. He glared at the dark bags under his eyes venomously and straightened his suite; checking his zipper, smoothing out any wrinkles with his hand. Break time was over. Charlie would poke fun if he was late because he lost track of time.

The bathroom door gave way to the painfully beige themed law firm. His office was towards the back of the building but he wasn't complaining. Layer after layer of scent blocker and artificial beta smell made it a lot easier at this office than his last job. Even now, the boss way up on the board of directors had put him in charge of teaching the new employees where everything was in the building and who to go to for what. Somehow, that little extra works pay, combined with his case pay, raised his income quite a bit.

But it was never about the money with this job. Right after Stanford University it had been about proving that an omega could handle tougher jobs than what was considered ‘normal’ for his kind. His first employers were, by law, not allowed to refuse to hire him because of his sex and he had had an outstanding resume with a law degree to back it up. They hadn't been able to point out reasons not to hire him. So they had…

Sam took a sharp inhale, then let it out in a quick breath before opening the glass door to his office. Charlie was half sitting half leaning on his desk but quickly stood when he entered the immaculate office. She was a fiery alpha who had just past the bar exam no more than two weeks prior. Normally, it was against protocol to have a ‘beta’ teach an alpha their job, but the director had complete faith in Sam's abilities and Charlie hadn’t minded at all. In fact, she seemed to really like being taught by Sam.

“Hey! So what am I supposed to learn about this maze of a job today, Sam?”

He came over to her and couldn't help a grin from cracking at the corner of his lips at her unprofessional speech. And also maybe the fact that he was looking down at the alpha. It was petty, but he was grateful for his height that made him less obviously an omega -who were usually short and curvy- and because he could use his height to intimidate alphas if he needed to. Charlie was not threatening, though. Probably one of the most laid back alphas he had ever met.

“You're going to have to start calling me Mr.Campbell. People get offended by familiarity here so it's best to stay on the formal side.”

She nodded solemnly and groaned “Fine. But I'm not gonna like it.” Sam ignored that last comment and gathered up a stack of papers off his desk. He placed them carefully in a binder inside his briefcase. “I have an important client who wants to meet with me today. I think we’ve gone over enough about office work. I'll show you how to deal with clients today.”

Charlie’s eyes widened along with an excited grin. She raised her hand “Permission to jump around excitedly, Mr. Campbell?” Sam sighed and shook his head. They really would hire any alpha with a degree, wouldn't they? “Not inside the office, Ms.Bradbury. The best thing to do is not draw attention to yourself until you understand this job better, alright?”

“Understood.” They started out of his office but not before Charlie nudged his arm with her elbow and added with a wink “Mr.Campbell.” God, it was going to be a long day.

The cab pulled up to the curb in front of Crowley’s loan office and the two lawyers stepped out. The young alpha looked the building over in fascination but as they approached all Sam could feel was a sense of dread. 

“Hey, uh. I don't know if this is a weird thing to ask- I'm really bad at judging that sort of thing- but, why don't you have a car? I mean, it sounds a little creepy but I've seen you get dropped off at work by a cab every day.”

Sam gave a brief shrug and held the door open for her. “My last car got stolen. Taking a cab has just been easier.” That was a lie. It was one of the most inconvenient things about his life. He couldn't get a car because he couldn't get a license, he couldn't get a license because then he would have to take a second gender test. And if he registered as a male omega, not only would he most likely lose his job, creeps that went looking for male omegas would be able to see his name pop up in the national database and would start harassing him again.

No. Only his mom and- regrettably- his stepfather knew what he was now. And he intended on keeping it that way.

They were greeted at the door by one of Crowley’s many underlyings who lead the way to their boss’ office. Sam had been there a number of times over the two and a half years of being Crowley’s lawyer and knew exactly where the loan shark’s office was. But then maybe the gesture of a guide was more as a way to keep from having people wandering around his business unattended. He was pretty sure that's what it was.

The elevator ride was silent between Sam, Charlie, and their assigned ‘guide’. His young Alpha associate looked about ready to burst if she wasn't allowed to say what was obviously on the top of her tongue. Sam gave her a stern look meant to tell her to calm down and it was as if she didn't even know what she was doing. A warning growl escaped her throat. It was gone a moment later when she caught herself and covered her lips in embarrassment. Sam had looked away- his biology telling not to make eye contact with the irritated alpha- and hated the wash of shame and discomfort fall over him. It wasn't very often he couldn't keep that side of him at bay but whenever it happened that he couldn't, horrible memories and thoughts flooded his mind.

He was in the middle of work right now. He couldn't let it get in his way. Charlie was too distracted by her own blunder to notice and the ‘guide’ was too… braindead to notice anything, really. If Crowley didn't contribute to his salary, Sam would have investigated his company for a lot of very unsettling things he had seen in his time here. Employees that seemed lobotomized? Not that surprising, honestly. Plus, the guy was a beta so it was harder for his kind to pick up on the more subtle habits of the other two sexes.

The elevator opened to a hallway on the sixth floor with a dark oak door at the very end. To most (including Sam) the the door didn't represent the authority and fear Crowley hoped it would but rather a boss that has a horrible taste in office doors. 

“Uh, yeah. Sorry about growling. I don't usually get-” Charlie started in a loud whisper and Sam smiled and held up his hand to calm her nerves but never took his eyes from the door they were quickly approaching “It's okay. Uh, so. When we get in there don't say anything unless he asks you something directly- don't answer if you don't know, though. Got it?” Her short, red curls bounced when she nodded animatedly. She adjusted her formal dress shirt that anyone could tell wasn't her average attire and smiled brightly.

“Ah, if it isn't my favorite monkey butler.” A predominantly alpha man sat at the desk in the well furnished work place that screamed ‘rich alpha boss’. Charlie was surprised at the rudeness but Sam didn't seem to be offended so she went with it.

Crowley’s gaze slid from Sam to the ‘fresh meat’. He gave the air a quick sniff “‘shame” and with the knowledge that she was an alpha, he turned back to Sam “Is this why you're two minutes late?”

Sam sighed internally and gestured towards Charlie “This is Ms. Bradbury. She is new to the firm. I hope you don't mind but she’s going to sit in on this meeting.” Was Sam- Mr. Campbell being passive aggressive with his client? The younger lawyer didn't know if she should be scared or impressed.

The loan shark thought it over and then shrugged as he leaned forward a bit. “Usually I would, but the more the merrier, right?” They took up the seats across from Crowley and Sam pulled out the folder of documents he had brought from work.

“So, Mr. Crowley. You were inquiring about the progress of the divorce papers you submitted last December, am I right?” The anger that settled into the air did not seem to match the relaxed expression on his face. Sam had expected as much and didn't let his body cowered away like it wanted to. He acted as if he didn't notice a difference, like a beta would. 

“Yes, and I would be just ecstatic if you got my ‘other half’ to sign already.”

“Well, I finally found her current residence. I actually got a hold of her through her boyfriend and we discussed your want for a divorce…”

Crowley narrowed his eyes “And?” Sam paused for the briefest of moments. His gut clenching at the idea of making this alpha even angrier and Charlie regarded him worriedly but Sam never dropped his unfazed facade. 

“Well, she wants compensation. You should be glad to hear that I talked her down from ninety percent of your company’s equity to two hundred and fifty thousand.”

Charlie held back a snarl when the reek of rage enclosed the room. Sam held completely still. The loan shark gritted his teeth and in a low, gravelly voice he said slowly “She gets nothing. Just get her to sign the damn papers so I can get on with my life.”

“It's not so simple. She claims you marked her neck. Meaning, by law, you have to pay for the emotional turmoil of a bond break, beta or not.”

This was one of the most heated discussions Sam had had with his big shot client. He would have to congratulate himself for not backing down later. After a long, long, explanation of Crowley's options going forward the alpha calmed down to only a mild annoyance. He had sent them away with a ‘shoo’ of his hand and an irritated “Fine, fine. Just get that doaty beta out of my life.”

And that was that.

The sun was starting to set when they left the building and Charlie turned to him with a huge grin that said ‘dude, I can't believe what I just saw’. Sam flashed her a small smile and dug in his pocket for his phone. He would need to call them a cab so they could grab the things they had left back at the office. 

“Who the hell thought that little hothead was a good mate let alone husband!?” Oh he really shouldn't gossip about his clients, but he kinda hated Crowley so he really didn't care. “He went to Vegas. Got plastered and woke up mated and married to a gold digger prostitute. She stole his wallet and a few other expensive items from him and took off. It's taken me a long while to figure out her real name let alone where she lives.”

“Damn. I guess I would be pretty pissed off if I was him.”

He held his phone to his ear, waiting for the cab company's phone to ring when Charlie caught his attention again. “Hey, we should grab a drink sometime! I have a feeling that I could totally be best friends with you if you would loosen up a bit.”

“Uh, yeah sure, I guess. I kinda just want to go home and crash tonight but yeah, maybe tomorrow after work?” He felt bad, but he really hoped she would forget or pretend to forget. Sam was not a social butterfly outside of work and he sure as hell wasn't much of a drinker. (Alcohol messed with his hormone reducing pills) he did like Charlie though, even if her uncle was one of the firm's board of directors and she probably didn't have to change her name and claw her way up from the very bottom to get the job. But there was something refreshingly honest about everything she said that he couldn't help but like her.

“Oh, yeah, yeah! I'm cat sitting for my girlfriend tonight anyways.” Even better, she was already taken. He considered this a sign that after three years with one friend he talked to maybe once a month was long enough. He would be cautious, but would it be so bad to have somewhere to go besides work, home and his Mom's house? No, that didn't sound bad at all.


	3. The Family Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s a bit late (an hour late to be precise) but it is here! New chapter so there. Enjoy~

His mom had left his dad when he was only five years old. 

No real explanation just, one day she was there and the next she was gone. Few months later a letter had shown up for him. Dean had smelled the comforting scent of his mother on it but John had caught him with it and had torn it up. For good massure he had thrown it on the fireplace. John was his alpha still as only a pup so he had saved his tears for his pillow later that night. 

When his mother had left, things went from not-so-good to downright shitty. 

With his wife gone, John had quit his job as a mechanic- the job he had only gotten because she asked him to. He picked up Dean, put him in the backseat of his impala with a few bags of their stuffs and sold the house Dean was supposed to grow up in. They traveled around a lot after that. Quickly, John Winchester was losing himself to the bottle and it didn't take long for him to gamble and drink all their money away. 

They went from staying in motels every night to sleeping in the car. John hadn't cared for a long time. But then when Dean had gotten a fever, nearly life threatening, John had remembered that it wasn't just his own life he was wasting. Of course, he had turned back to the only way of life he had known before his wife; Cons and theft.

For years, John would support them by blowing into some backwater town and conning the shit out of people. He swiped wallets and jewelry and even managed to rob a convenience store a few times. Dean grew up thinking of it as a cool job, like the spies in action movies. His father had taught him how to pull off a con and the art of wallet snatching when he had popped his knot and presented as an alpha at fourteen.

Life was good when the job was working. There were those nights when his dad drank himself silly that he tried to forget, but that was a thing he overlooked so he could tell himself that it was fine- that they were fine. 

That all changed when doing a little break-in at some rich Californian couple’s house, Dean had tripped the alarm system and his dad, waiting in the car, had sped off and left him.

The cops had caught him two blocks away. He was sixteen at the time so they threw him in Juvenile Hall for thirty days, asked him who he was and where his family was because at the time they had caught him, he had had thirteen different fake IDs on his person. Another eight of them in the trunk of his dad’s impala somewhere.

Dean had started to realize that maybe their little family business was actually something pretty bad. When he had started to speak to the police about his life, they got him off the hook for a longer sentence under the conditions that he would go to therapy and be placed in a foster home.

Yeah, two things Dean hated the most. But he had endured the three years of therapy (in which he realized just how much of a selfish asshole his father was) and the babying of his beta foster parents (who he knew were afraid of him but pretended to like him for the check every month). At least they had let him visit his uncle Bobby once a month- supervised, of course. Just in case his dad showed up out of the blue.

There was that one year after he turned eighteen and had been given a slap on the back saying “good luck out there, kiddo.” In which he really didn't know what to do with himself. He tried to have a girlfriend at one point- a boyfriend briefly, but he always felt the need to get away as quickly as he could. That what he had to offer was a big steamy mess of an individual. Shabby shit for jobs, dropped one then went to the next. At least his foster parents had let him keep his dad’s impala when John ditched it at Bobby’s scrap yard for a junker truck. That was one thing he was happy about.

He tried drugs, wasn't really his thing. He shoplifted, gambled, drank. But only the booze stuck. Crime didn't make him feel so good anymore. 

And that's when he ended up here, in Lawrence Kansas in a car completely out of gas. This was the birthplace of Dean Winchester in both the literal and metaphorical sense of the statement 

As anyone might've imagined, he looked for his mom the first couple of years, hoping that family would patch up that pit that had grown in his chest. But all records of Mrs. Winchester ended soon after John and her split. Her maiden name lost or erased from records.

With time, his focus had shifted to his friends and job. But there were still those times, especially when he was home in his apartment, the lights all turned off with nothing but the glow of the tv to see, and a six pack of beer that was cheap as shit. His mind would drift to thoughts of his mother, wondering what she would think of how his life now. Thinking she would probably be disappointed. After all, hadn't he ended up just like his father?

“Man, since when have I become such a whiny bitch?” He grumbled under his breath. There was no reply. The apartment was silent. Maybe it was about time he hooked up with someone again- even if it was just one night. He needed to feel like himself again and if a little rump added a bit more pep in his step, well, that was just alright.

He picked up his phone, hesitated, then sent Castiel a text

DEAN: “U should introduce me to your friend after all.”

He stared at the screen for a long time, wishing he could unsend the message. It was some time after three in the morning and he doubted Cas was awake to respond so he tossed the phone to the other side of the coach before opening another beer.


	4. Not a Good Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter~ enjoy

It had been common for an omega (especially male ones) to stay at home with their parents until they were married. Nowadays, you could see a few omegas here and there working minimum wage jobs or pre-school teachers. But that was about it. Omegas were the wives and husbands that stayed at home and cleaned, made their alpha food and took care of the children. It was more ideal for an omega wanting to have a job to marry a beta, they were usually more supportive and less dominant than alphas. But they had a harder time pleasing their omega in bed. It also meant it was much harder for these couples to have children- male omegas couldn't even conceive without an alpha during their heat.

An alpha with a beta? No problems there besides not being able to knot or leave a proper claim mark on a beta. Society even looked more favorably upon their unions. With so few omegas, people just expected them to mate with alphas because omegas could only be born from an alpha omega coupling. The world had gone so crazy about making more omegas that they had volunteer omegas who were single or mated with betas get alpha sperm inserted into their wombs so that they could potentially have an omega. SAVE THE OMEGAS, the world was shouting.

It really disgusted Sam. Because in his opinion the omegas were better off dying out. This world treated them like property, sex machines, baby makers. And heck, it would be really good if all the alphas died off as well because those numbnut fuckers were the source of the discrimination he had suffered.

He had trained his mind to shut out his instinctive needs and wants and had worked out everyday to combat the chub that biologically wanted to accumulate on his hips and thighs. He hadn't had a heat since his first one thanks to heat blockers and he imagined that must be damaging to his body in some way but he honestly could not find it in himself to care.

After what had happened at his last job, Sam had changed his name back to his mother’s last name. He had never really liked his step-father’s last name anyway. It had taken him awhile to get a hold of illegal beta scent cover (the legal stuff just made you smell like chemicals and everyone could tell what you really were) but when he did, he had started his career from the ground up again. Some papers were forged along the way but now he had gotten what he had wanted.

No… not really. He had wanted to become a lawyer so that he could prove that omegas could have higher paying jobs, that they were capable of doing great things. But now look at him, Hiding out behind a beta facade because the world had shown him first hand of how an omega who wanted to break the unspoken rules was treated. 

Sam didn't know how it started, or rather chose to ignore it, but he had started to hate what he really was- hated others who were not ashamed like he was.   
He had overslept and didn't have time to call a cab to take him to work so he had taken the bus which wasn't so bad, because it was actually really, really bad. The shoe box was jam-packed. The heat of the day was already cooking up an awful aroma of body odors.

And then there was his hair. It was doing one it's annoying stick-out-in-every-direction fits and no matter how much he tried to tame his shaggy locks of brown they would find another way to piss him off. To say the least, it was not a good start to the day.

And it would keep on, just like that, all day. Blunders and mishap followed him. The printer had jammed on him, an assistant had ran a mail cart over his foot which scuffed his well kept dress shoes, and when his computer got unplugged he had crouched below the desk to plug it back in only to hit his head. Now, with his migraine throbbing, he rubbed at his temples, waiting for that five o’clock to roll on in so he could go home.  
Then his phone buzzed. Just once, did someone text him? No one ever texts him. He picked it up and was surprised to see that it was that one friend he had but rarely ever talked to.

CASTIEL: “Hello, Sam.”

Well that was unexpected. Sam hesitated only for a moment before replying.

SAM: “Hey! Sorry it's been so long. Work and all…”

SAM: “How have you been? I stopped by yesterday but didn't catch you. Crowley was in a bad mood.”

CASTIEL: “I'm holding your visit accountable for Crowley making me stay late to spell check then.”

CASTIEL: “My friend I told you about. He wants me to introduce you to him. Are you still interested?”

Sam had to read that last message over a few times. When had he told Castiel he was interested in dating? And ‘him’? Sam wasn't so sure he was into that, not that he had much to go by in terms of experience.

He was formulating a response that no, Sam did not do dating, ever. When Charlie poked her head through his open door.

“Quittin’ time, Mr. Campbell. Ready to party?”

Right. That was perfect. 

SAM: “Maybe another time. I'm going out for drinks with some coworkers. But I’d love to hang out with you sometime soon!”

Yeah, yeah, he knew he was avoiding the meat of his friend’s question but the last thing he wanted to do was seem odd or weird by saying he had no interest in letting anyone close enough to date him. Sam gathered up his things and gave Charlie a smile in return to her happy grin.


	5. Drinks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

Cas had told Dean sometime around four thirty that he wasn't able to to get a clear answer out of his friend to see if he wanted to get together and that… that had been irritating? Wasn't sure if that was the right word for it. Whatever it was made work that night a bit unbearable. Dean had tried branching out, going outside of his comfort zone but now he was sure that it wasn't a good idea. That he would get disappointed or he would disappoint whoever he was with.

It was a relatively slow night. A few families and a couple were occupying the dining area as per usually but no “party-harveys” or “moody-rudys” at the bar. Dean was checking his phone, looking to see if Cas had responded to his text when a voice suddenly announced

“I'm here, bitches!”

Now that certainly caught his attention. A redhead (clearly an alpha) stood just within the entrance of the bar with… jazz hands? After she had taken a look around and noticed the wave of drunks hadn't come rolling in yet she slumped a bit but strode over to the bar with the utmost confidence.

Dean gave her a crooked grin and looked to the tall guy trailing behind her to see what sorry lad had gotten stuck with this- holy shit. That guy. His alpha seemed to stir in his chest in a way that had never happened before. Dean had seen all kinds of attractive people in his life as well as his fair share of ugly ones. But this guy was… stunning. If you asked him ‘why?’ Or ‘what about him is stunning?’ Dean honestly wouldn't know. It was as if some sort of hazy fog had settled over him and it took him several long seconds to remember himself and clear his throat.

“And, uh, what will you two be having tonight?”

Charlie narrowed her eyes at the bartender, trying to figure him out. She had seen that wide eyed, surprised look on his face when he saw Sam. And there had been the scent of excitement for the briefest of moments that she wasn't sure if she had really scented it or not. Sam, on the other hand, had froze up at the feeling of eyes on him. He had been massaging his forehead when he walked up with his head down. But now that he was seated and he was sure that the alpha was no longer looking, he chanced a quick glance.

“Me and my buddy here will have matching pints, please.” Charlie practically sang.

The bartender was good looking- maybe needed to iron his flannel every once and awhile- but he did have a good face- a great face, a voice in the back of his head piped up with which he quickly dismissed. No, no, it was just a good face. This bartender wasn't more attractive than any other person. And then there was the fact that he was an alpha. That made Sam's arguing mind settle a bit, because an alpha was definitely not what Sam was looking for. Wait, was he looking? His body was reacting so much. He was trying to reel it all in, but there was something about this guy that was having an effect on Sam.

He glanced over to Charlie when the Bartender had walked down to the other side of the bar where the beer tap was at. “Did you see that?” She spoke under her breath with a sort of excitement.  
“See what?” He knew exactly what she was talking about but a beta wouldn't be so perceptive and he was a beta, wasn't he? Of course he was.

“That guy was for really real checking you out. Like, wow, if he was trying to play a stealth tactic he was failing majorly!” He raised his eyebrows to this in feigned surprise but didn't dare to cast a glance in the bartender’s direction. The heat of blush rose up his neck and a hand came up to rub it away. This hadn't been a good idea. Charlie was great and Sam could see them getting along fairly well…  
But the bartender was bad news. Warning bells were going off in his head and his biology was sending mixed signals. The larger less reasonable side was getting excited but the more sensible side of him was wanting get out of there right. Now. Charlie, unaware that she could sense distress on her colleague which would not be possible if he was a beta, gave Sam a light punch on his shoulder. “Don't worry. If he tries anything funny I'll give him the business.”

From the other end of the bar, Dean finished pouring two pints of the better tasting beer they had (the other tasted like piss water to him) he was discreetly watching the beta man out of the corner of his eye. That guy… there was something off about him, something that was thrillingly off putting. He knew, in his head, that that didn't make any sense but that didn't seem to matter to the rest of him.

He stood up straighter and put on his signature smirk as he brought the drinks over. “So what are a couple of suits such as yourselves doin’ in a place like this?” They each took one, though the man seemed to catch himself staring and casually looked away with a nod of thanks. “Heard from a few of my friends that Benny’s was the shit when it came to jambalaya and drinks.” Charlie offered with a smile that turned a bit awkward and stiff as she looked at the empty bar. Sam snorted with a laugh “Slow night?”

Dean's skin practically vibrated with excitement when he heard the man speak. “Nah, not slow. Just early- the usual crowd comes in around an hour from now. You guys comin’ from work?”  
Sam cracked a bit of a smile. The guy sure had a weird accent and way of talking. There was a bit of a Kansas drawl but something else- New York? California? He had no idea and it only made him want to know what this guy's deal was.

“Yeah, me and mr. bossguy here are lawyers believe it or not.” It was hard to tell if the alpha woman was bragging or complaining but Dean took note that she was okay- a bit odd- but not a bad customer at all. His eyes shifted to the beta in surprise. Had he been wrong? No… the man definitely had the scent of a beta. It was surprising to hear about a beta that was put in an authoritative position over an alpha.

“Lawyers, wow. Guess I'll know who to call if I get caught next time- I'm Dean by the way.” Sam stared for a moment at the outstretched hand to him before giving in and shaking the callused hand, ignoring the twitch of a smile on his own lips at the warmth the handshake sent through him “Nice to meet you, Dean. I'm Samual but I hate that name so call me Sam.” Shit, he was babbling.

Their hands lingered maybe a bit too long and maybe the eye contact was too intense but Dean seemed to remember himself and turned to Charlie and offered her the same hand to shake. “Hey, Dean. I'm Charlie.”

Sam took another large gulp of his pint and mentioned mildly “Don't know how much help we could be to you unless you want a divorce or someone took advantage of you legally or physically.” 

Dean looked to be thinking this over when Benny came through the entrance. Dean made a face and spoke in a hushed voice more to Sam than to Charlie “My boss it back, I gotta look like I'm working. But feel free to call me over if you need anything.”

It took a good five seconds after Dean had turned away before the lawyer looked away. Charlie nudged Sam “So, what did you think of him? He seemed pretty into you~” Nope. Sam was not going down that road. He would not entertain the idea of liking someone- especially if that someone was an alpha.

“Seems a bit narcissistic, doesn't he? He probably thinks that everyone is attracted to him. I don't… I really don’t think I like alphas like that, you know?” It was reasonable. Everyone had their own preferences for partners. But Charlie had a feeling that Sam was hiding something. She was curious, but wouldn't push it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sure you all had been waiting for this first meeting and I hope it didn’t disappoint. It will go on into the next chapter as well~


	6. Bad Ideas Come Hand In Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me a real hard time when I wrote it and even now, when I do a final once over before posting, I’m tweaking little things about it because it just felt like an awkward fit.
> 
> Anywho, I hope I fixed the bugs now. Enjoy~

It had not been a good idea to go drinking with Charlie, Sam decided.

An hour or so after they had showed up, the real bar crowd had shuffled in and the number of drinks Charlie was packing away was doubled. What you call a social drinker would be an understatement. By the end of the night, Sam’s colleague was plastered. Not a good thing. Especially considering she acted a lot more like an alpha asshole when she was drunk.

When he had tried to get her to leave the bar she had growled at him threateningly, showing her teeth and spat out “I don’ give a fuck if ‘m a little drunk! I s’not leaving yet!” Sam had to resort to stealing her phone and calling up her girlfriend to come a pick her up.

Charlie’s girlfriend was a beautiful beta woman with long, black curls that tapered off to blonde at the end and caramel colored skin. She introduced herself as Gilda and apologized for Charlie's behavior. When they had left, Sam had stood out on the curb in the not-so-good neighborhood and called for a cab. He had had his fill of excitement with Charlie and would probably never do it again but it had been nice at the beginning, just talking and getting to know someone- something he hadn't tried to do in years.

And that's when a huge alpha came out of the bar. Sam had known the moment that he had seen him that he was going to give Sam a hard time. Too drunk, too big to be reasonable.

“Wha ya doin’ ou here?? That parties inside, don you know?” Sam gave the man a tight lipped look. The man came closer, staggering a bit and his omega panicked, back up back up back up! But he ignored that part of himself even if it was physically painful to not obey such a primal instinct to protect himself. He held his ground as the taller man latched his large hand (with a wedding ring on it, he might add) on his shoulder.

A grin was splayed over his round, middle age face. It revolted Sam. “C’mon! We can dance!” “Sorry, I'm not much of a dancer. Let go of my arm, sir.” The man didn't seem to like that answer much, yanking Sam forward so he could scent him. Like hell he would let that happen.

Back in college, Sam had taken self defense classes as his counselor had recommended since he was an unmated omega only on heat blocker. For a while after Sam had given up on an omega lifestyle, he had thought that he would never have to deal with harassment ever again. Boy, had he been wrong.

In one, precise movement, Sam used the momentum from the man tugging him closer to flip the alpha onto his back. Of course, the instability of his drunkenness helped make it easier to get such a huge guy to fall. 

But the asshole was pissed now, he growled throatily as he got up slowly and Sam's stupid heart was beating too fast. “Yo piz’za shit! I'll break yo’r neck!” Sam was ready to beat this entitled alpha dick to death if he even tried to touch him again… and that's when the scent of another pissed off alpha hit Sam.

He turned around, ready to give (who he thought was a buddy of this guy’s) a good strong punch to the throat. But he froze when he saw Dean, growling at the other, bigger alpha. It looked as though the bartender knew this drunk. 

“Oi! Asshole! Get the fuck outta here! And don't even think about comin’ back because this is the last straw!” The other sized Dean up, growling down at him. They were staring at each other in immense rage mere inches away. Sam had only seen a fight for dominance one other time and just like the last time, his guts were coiling in fear, knowing that his body would want to have the winner to himself- the stronger alpha. Ugh, that was one of the things he despised about his DNA.

Whatever the drunk alpha saw in Dean's eyes made him back up in fear. He looked at Sam and glared before stalking off wobbly down the street. That had been… surprising. Dean gave a tired sigh and looked to Sam. “Sorry ‘bout that. Really should've called the cops on that piece a shit. This isn't the first time he's tried that.”

Sam shrugged, not trusting himself to say anything when Dean's scent was surrounding him in a subconscious protective gesture. Sam hated that this alpha smelt so good, something like fresh baked pie and asphalt. That was one scent that wasn't usual and Sam actually felt himself relaxing from the comforting scent. He had to get a hold of himself before things got out of hand.

“Uh, thanks for the help, I guess.” Sam took a step back and heard a crunch, he looked down and realized that what he had stepped on was none other than his phone. “Shit!” “This really doesn't seem like this is your day.” Sam cast a unimpressed glare at the alpha and bent down to pick up his phone. It must have fallen out of his hand when that other alpha had yanked him forward.

Dean had been heading out when he stumbled upon the fight between the alpha and beta and he had been impressed to say the least that the beta had been able to throw such a massive guy to the floor. But now, Dean was tired and wanted to go home but he felt bad for this Sam guy's bad luck wanted to cheer him up somehow. It was definitely not something Dean did for complete strangers. 

“Listen, I know a friend who works at an electronic repair store. I could get your phone fixed for free if you want.” It was true that he knew a tech genius named Frank, but why the hell was he promising a free fix? Frank was a crazy son of a bitch that always wanted something in return. It wasn't as if fixing this guy’s phone was gonna get him in bed with him either, so why the hell bother?

Sam narrowed his eyes warily at Dean. “Do you always just offer to help random people or do you expect something in return?” Well that was a loaded question. No matter what answer he gave, this Sam guy was gonna think he was a creep. 

Whatever. He was trying to get this guy to like him (though he doubted he was into alphas let alone male alphas just by looking at him) so he wouldn't give up until he was completely rejected.   
“Look, Sam, I feel kinda bad for all this shit. It sure as hell wasn’t my fault, but you seem like… maybe you deserve better treatment than what you got? I dunno, just let me get your phone fixed.” Ah shit, that had sounded sickeningly sappy. It had come out without his permission and now a heat of embarrassment colored the back of his neck.

Sam couldn't help the laugh that came out. He quickly covered his mouth to hide it but his grin wouldn't fall away “I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to laugh.” Another huff of laughter left his lips and he was surprised to that Dean was grinning too now. What the hell did he think he was doing? No. This was an alpha. Keep it professional. His smile dropped and he narrowed his eyes once more.

“How do I know you aren't just going to take my phone and not give it back?” Hmm… that was a predicament, one of the main reasons why doing things for strangers was so hard. You needed something as a proxy for trust.

“How ‘bout this; I'll write down all my info- where I live, my phone number- the whole Shabang. You already know where I work. If I don't come through by next week you can call the cops, okay?” One thing that John had taught Dean growing up that was really invaluable was the art of a good pitch. You couldn't start a good con without a good pitch and over the years, Dean had almost perfected his pitching skills. It wasn't as though he was trying to pull a fast one on Sam, he just needed to make the beta feel in control of the situation.

“You're… really insane, aren't you? I don't know you, what if I break into your house and kill you in your sleep? You shouldn't be giving out your information like this.” Dean just grinned “I have a feeling that that won't happen with you. Intuition or   
somethin’.”

Sam had caved and had swapped his broken phone for the alpha’s info. It had been such a strange transaction that he probably would have never made if he hadn't had an amazing buzz at the time.

The next morning, when he had woken up to his apartment with the burn of alcohol in the back of his throat and thoughts of Dean's crooked grin, Sam groaned and covered his face with his pillow. It really, really had been a bad idea to go drinking with Charlie.


	7. Clocking Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a bit different than the rest so far. It focuses on Crowley and Castiel. There will be a few chapters here and there with the same focus in the future. 
> 
> Next chapter will be returning to Sam and Dean’s story so if Crowley and Castiel isn’t your cup of tea, the day after tomorrow’s update will be a better bet for you.
> 
> Anywho, Enjoy!

Castiel would say he hated his job- working for a tyrant like Fergus Crowley and all. But, he came from a small town down south where education had been minimal. When he had moved to Lawrence he hadn't known many things out of farm working life. Of course, when you don't have any real skills or even a proper form of identification it can be really hard to get a job. 

He had lived in a shelter for a while, earning money by public cleanups and yard work but it was never enough to support himself. Castiel had almost been on the verge of moving back to his uneducated hometown when he had met Crowley.

If you asked him how that encounter had led to his current employment, he wouldn't be able to tell you much. Crowley had thought his ignorance of the world to be both amusing and irritating so he had offered Castiel a deal; he would pay for the beta’s schooling- but he would have to study business- and when he finished school he would come work for Crowley until the loan shark felt as though the beta had payed off his debt.

This was Castiel’s first year working for Crowley and he had mixed feelings about the whole setup. His boss for one was sadistic and often outright cruel to some of his other employees. But Cas was extremely grateful to no longer live on the streets even if half his paychecks were given to Crowley as payment for his schooling and his apartment complex was filled with addicts and prostitutes.

The sun was starting to sink as he collected his things from his desk. As per usual, he stopped by Crowley’s office to tell him he was done for the day (another weird agreement Crowley had implemented). The short but hot tempered alpha looked exhausted when he stepped inside the office.

“I'm heading out, Crowley.” He announced and the loan shark waved him away lazily. “See you tomorrow, feathers. For your own well being I hope you don't oversleep again.” It was practically a growl and, for most in the office, it was terrifying. But Castiel was never good at taking the social cues of the other second genders. He hadn't even met an alpha knowingly until Crowley introduced himself and his boss really only annoyed him at best.

“I apologize again for my tardiness today.” Crowley gave him a factitious smile and shooed him away “Apology heard. Now, get out of my office.” And he would leave, but he hesitated, noticing the stress clearly written on his boss’ face “I hope I'm not speaking out of line-” “You probably are, but continue.” 

“Crowley, go home and sleep for a change. Your face looks horrible.” This made the loan shark pause for a moment, he looked at his employee and suddenly Castiel wasn’t so sure the word ‘horrible’ was the right choice. But after a good minute had elapsed, Crowley shook his head dismissively, his gaze going back to the papers in front of him. “Get out of my office.” Castiel had expected as much and nodded as he turned away. He definitely wasn’t going to stick around and see how far he could push his boss before he snapped. No, he wasn’t looking to be throttled today. “yes, sir.” 

When the beta had left, Crowley glanced at the door he had disappeared behind and a wicked smile took over his face. Castiel was starting to forget his place. It was about time he punished his little out of line angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this chapter was shorter (I think) but I’m pretty sure the next chapter is more.


	8. Dinner Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey~ Yet another chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

When Cas showed up for Dean's dinner break with a sandwich and a satisfied smile Dean gave him a wary look. “What's got you in such a good mood?” Cas sat down at the table across from his alpha friend.

“For once, I told Crowley just what I thought. He then told me to leave his office immediately but I think I got my message across… I think.” Dean gave him a firm pat on his shoulder and smile around his sandwich “Good for you, buddy. Stick it to him!”

“And my friend finally got back to me about that blind date. He says he’s open to trying it out, but only if I'm there.”  
Dean rolled his eyes. The guy sounded like he was scared of him and he didn't even know him. He'd try it out, sure. But he didn't think he needed that date anymore.

“I think I’ve met someone, Cas... I donno. Things happened and now I'm paying Frank to fix his phone? I honestly don't understand why the hell I acted like an idiot in front of him.” Cas nodded slowly trying to understand his friend’s plight but coming up just a tad bit too short “So… do you want me to cancel the date?” 

Dean rubbed at his eyes in frustration, things upstairs were so confused that he wasn't sure about anything anymore. “I donno- I mean, I kinda feel like I should just drop the idea of dating and just find someone up for a one rounder. Actually being with someone’s stressful.”

“That's vulgar, Dean.” “Well, old habits die hard my friend.” Castiel looked down at the table, crossing his arms over his chest “I can't stop you from having sex with anything with legs, it just worries me, Dean. Just give this one date a try and then we'll go from there.” Dean glanced up at the clock, he had two minutes left of break. “It's not even a date if you'll be tagging along.” He mumbled and Cas shrugged. Dean gave a heavy sigh.

“Next week. Not this week.” That made his beta friend show a small smile “Okay


	9. Mind Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey~ got a bit distracted so It’s technically the day after I was supposed to update but it is up before the sun so I will consider that ‘on time’
> 
> A new character makes an appearance in this chapter. Enjoy!

Sam sat at his desk glaring at the ceiling. He had done some stupid shit this week but by far, this took the stupidest thing slot. He had told Castiel he would go on a date with some random guy. It had been a stupid, stupid idea. How many years had he been pushing people away to keep the unfortunate outcome of his genetics a secret? 

He didn't have time to wallow in his self pity and hatred, though. He had his weekly visit to his mother’s house to get ready for. He was anxious. He didn't like not having a cellphone to keep in touch with her, make sure everything was alright. He had called her from his work number the day after the bar incident to tell her to call his work number if she needed anything. 

He had gotten her answering machine. Knowing his mom, she probably wouldn't even listen to the voice message he left.  
You could say that Mary Campbell was a good mother. Sam believed she was a good mother… in the beginning. He could remember those wonderful years of his childhood. Sure she was a single mother who was working hard to support herself and her son, but she had never yelled or drank… not in front of him at least. She would take him to school and pack him a pb&j sandwich with a note that read “have a good day!” And there were only a few instances that she was more than ten minutes late to picking him up.

After school, she would take him to her work in a small diner. He would sit quietly at the counter with a chocolate shake and French Fries while he drew his mom a picture.

It had never registered that it was weird for an omega to be separated from her partner. Heck, he hadn't even known there were omegas, alphas, and betas until his babysitter - Ruby, he was pretty sure her name was Ruby- had explained graphically why his mom would get ‘sick’ every month. He had been ten then.

But as Sam got older and learned more and more of the harassment and insults his mother received for leaving her mate the angrier he got. His mom was strong and the insults never bothered her but they bothered Sam, a lot. 

Mary had started to see a new alpha when Sam was fourteen. Arthur Ketch was a chauvinistic pig. He like Mary because she was a strong omega that he could break into submission. Sam wasn't entirely sure why his mom was with him. They had gotten into a lot of fights, sometimes they would break up and Sam would let out a sigh of relief only to have Ketch in the kitchen for breakfast less than a week later.

It had been on one of those weeks when Ketch had left that Sam had presented as an omega at age sixteen. He didn't know what would have happened if Ketch was over when he had his first heat. Nothing good he assumed. The moment his heat was over his mom had him on heat suppressants. Sam had always believed that whatever he became his mother would support him, but she had seemed oddly distant and really unhelpful when he was dealing with the changes in his body.

A year and a half after he had become an omega, Ketch had dug his disgusting teeth into Mary’s neck, replacing the fading bond mark with that of his own. They had sat Sam down and told him that they were getting married and that Ketch would adopt Sam as his son.

And that's when his mother’s chaotic relationship suddenly made sense. Money. Ketch was a loaded foreigner and would be more than willing to support the two omegas- his omegas. Sam had become aware that Ketch wasn't just after Mary now. He wanted them both. That's why Stanford college had been so appealing. The further away from his stepfather the better.

Now he was back. Back to the house he grew up in, back to the house his mother and Ketch lived.

He checked the driveway and was relieved that Ketch’s car was not in the driveway. It was always the worse when they ran into each other when Sam was visiting. Mary was waiting on the porch for him. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her aged face was set in a frown. The wind tossed her long curls of blond about.

Sam trudged up the porch steps and his mother looked him over for a long moment before pulling him down into a tight hug. She had become hardened over the years and a hug was a rare greeting for Sam. He instantly knew Ketch had been playing his mind games again.

When they pulled away Sam gently lifted his mother's wrist to see the burns there. The bruising on her face wasn't even healed yet from Sam's last visit and Ketch had moved on to more abusive tactics. It made him want to cry seeing his mom get treated like this. Watch as her vibrant personality slowly dull. But he couldn't cry. She wouldn’t like it and she was technically one of his clients.

For the last four years, Sam had been building a case against his stepfather. Spousal abuse was against the law, yes… but the victim had to admit that the abuse was happening for any legal action to go through. Even if he could get his terrified mother to testify against her alpha there was still the matter of the jury and judge. More often than not, they were apt to believe the alpha over the omega in cases of rape or abuse because the media and entertainment industry had glamorized the AlphaOmega relationship and the thought that any omega could be unhappy with an alpha was just unbelievable.

“Mom, you can't keep quiet about this anymore. What if he snaps one day and tries to kill you?” “He’ll kill me if I DO say anything. Just leave it alone, Sam. I can handle him.” She gave a weak smile “Now, come inside, I made some cherry pie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you all are looking forward to the blind date chapter but bare with me, one more IMPORTANT chapter and then you shall have that date. ;)


	10. Shut Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey~ another chapter! This is chapter 10 so that means only 50 chapter left to post! Enjoy

Frank liked to be called a genius. In some ways, he was. But he was also a crazy alpha that took immense satisfaction in dicking people over. As payment for Sam's phone fix, Dean had to buy the old fart a lap dance, two ‘genuine’ alien artifacts, and a six pack of beer. It had ended up costing him just short of three hundred. 

The only reason Dean didn't give up was because his stupid mouth had gone and told Sam the lawyer man that he could call the cops on him if he didn't have the phone finished within a week. And what was Dean getting out of this? Nothing. Yeah, apparently, he had spent almost three hundred on a stranger out of the kindness of his heart and nothing more.

He only wished that he could somehow get the lawyer to trust him enough to at the very least be friends… but of course, he wanted more than just your run of the mile sandbox kind of relationship.

His week was up. Frank had given him Sam's phone the night before and Dean had kept his snooping to a minimum. (It was kind of impossible to resist especially since there was no password blocker.) 

Keeping away from his private messages and emails, Dean looked over his photos. There was pictures of women. Photos of injuries on different areas of their bodies dated over years. He felt a bit guilty for looking. Obviously, the women were some of the cases he was working. There were other folder of pictures with case numbers attached so Dean had back out of the pictures. There were no apps that didn't come with the phone and the background was a very impersonal stock image that came with the phone.

It seemed like he didn't use his phone other than for work, Dean concluded, mildly disappointed. There was a new message in his texts and Dean had contemplated reading them but then decided it was a bad idea since there would no longer be a notification of the new messages. Sam was no idiot from what Dean could tell, he would know that he had been snooping and then what kinda trust would he have for him? None.

It was just around the same time of day that Sam first showed up at the bar with Charlie when the beta walked through the door the second time around. Dean stopped in the middle of his wipe down of the bar when he saw him. He had almost forgotten the fluttering feeling this guy gave him until he was seeing him again. The brooding over money wasted repairing this stranger’s phone faded far away when Sam looked around warily before meeting his stare.

“Hey there, stranger.” Sam greeted mockingly in the face of their weird acquaintanceship. Dean gave him a crooked grin in response. Man, the time apart had dimmed how he felt around this guy- what the fuck was he even feeling for him, anyway? 

When Dean only stared with that goofy grin of his, Sam looked to the side and rocked back on his heels awkwardly “So, do I need to call the police?” That snapped Dean back to reality a bit “Huh? Oh right. No need to call the cops. I got your phone all fixed up!”

He shuffled over to his jacket and pulled free the ziplock bag containing the phone. Sam smiled at the bag when Dean brought it over to him “Wow, the ziplock bag was a nice touch. It really makes me believe my phone was in good hands.” 

Sarcasm had never been sexier. Dean nodded in a show of agreement “Damn straight. I raised it like my own. You better believe it.” They both stared at each other with matching pho seriousness that quickly broke away into grins.

Sam cleared his throat when he realized the familiarity in his voice he hadn't used since his days at Stanford and opened the bag to make sure his phone was actually fixed and all his things were still there. It looked fine to him.

“Thank you so much for this, I uh, really don't know how I could make my thanks any more clear. But I really do appreciate your help, Dean- Winchester, right?” The way his name sounded on Sam's lips was amazing. Fuck the date he had next week. He wanted Sam. This man needed to be his.  
Oblivious to Dean's awestruck stares, Sam opened the new texts he had received. One was Charlie’s apology for getting wasted, one was from his mom asking if he was still coming over for a visit (the one he had just done the day before), and the last one was from Castiel telling him to wear something more casual than a suit to his blind date the following week. Something he was most certainly not looking forward to.

“Well, um. Thanks again. See you around I guess.” He started awkwardly and the alpha seemed to be ripped from his daze again “Coffee?” “What?” Dean cleared his throat and leaned forward on the bar “Would you like to have a coffee with me sometime? I mean- it's not like you have to because the whole phone thing. It’s more of a suggestion. I'd like to get to know you better.” He gave a grin and a wink, that always seemed to get the people into a bed or allyway with him.

Sam's omega had a floaty feeling, it wanted him to say yes.’yes, Alpha! Court me court me court me!’ What a needy creature. Sam pushed it away “ah, here's the thing- I'm… not interested? Uh, yeah.” 

Dean couldn't comprehend the rejection. He had been nearly one hundred percent positive that Sam had been flirting back. He wouldn't have gone for it if he didn't think he had a chance.

“Oh, uh. That's fine I guess.” Awkward silence settled over them. This was fine. If he left it on a sour note Dean wouldn't seek him out. “Bye.” He finally said and left the bar in a hurry.

Dean had been rejected but somehow, he had a feeling that this wasn’t it. But maybe that was his damaged pride talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rejected! 
> 
> That date is sure to be extra fun now, huh?


	11. Blind Date

So the day of the date had arrived much to Sam's dread. Work had been a wonderful distraction from his personal life and he had all but forgotten about the impending awkwardness. At least he had convinced Castiel to tag along. It made it less like a date and more like two people meeting who had a mutual friend. Yeah, if he thought about it like just hanging out with friends it made it all seem less chaotic and more manageable.

Charlie popped her head in the doorway of his office with a bright grin “Hey, there! You wanna go grab a bite to eat? Girlfriend’s out of town and I don't want to eat dinner alone. It's depressing.”

Sam finished packing his things into his briefcase and gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I have plans tonight.” She look surprised “Plans? You never have plans.” He shrugged “I'm going on a date.” It was alright to say as much. After all, wasn't the whole reason for saying yes was so his facade of normalcy stayed normal looking? 

The alpha woman squealed with delight at the news and clapped her hands excitedly. “Yay! Is it the guy from the bar? Please tell me it's the guy from the bar.” Sam blushed before he could stop himself “Of course not! It's a… a blind date a friend set up.” She sagged in disappointment for a moment before a smug smile crossed her lips “Wouldn't it be so funny if it really was that bartender? What was his name again?”

“Dean.” Sam answered without a moment's pause and cursed himself for keeping that person’s name on demand in his mind. Charlie sure looked smug about causing his slip up. “Right, right. Well, have fun on your date with ‘not Dean’.”

The date was set up to happen at a restaurant. Nothing fancy, just one of those chain restaurants that were family friendly. Of course, Castiel had assured Sam (and his date) that alcohol was sold there.

Sam didn't have many casual outfits since work was ninety-five percent of his life. He had stumbled across his old green flannel from college and a pair of faded jeans. But when he put them on he realized they had his omega scent all over them. He had scrubbed at them with the beta scent block that was definitely not sold in the stores. The FDA didn't want any omega to be completely undetectable so the only ‘beta blocker’ that omegas could purchase legally gave them the scent of chemicals.

That certainly didn't stop Sam from buying the illegal stuff if it meant it would actually cover his scent. After he was satisfied that his real scent was covered on the shirt and pants, he had taken a cab over to the restaurant where Castiel was already drinking a coffee patiently. When Sam took up a seat next to him the beta gave a slightly surprised smile.

“You know, I don't think I've ever seen you not wearing a suit.” Sam panicked for a second “Wait, does this look stupid?” Castiel shook his head, amused by his usually business professional friend worked up over whether he looked okay for his date. “No, it looks good on you, Sam. My friend is very laid back, I'm sure you two will hit it off.”

Sam nodded but Cas took notice to the tightness in his shoulder and sighed. He had had a feeling that Sam hadn't been on a date in a very long time, but now he was wondering if he had ever dated. Castiel checked his phone for an update from Dean and saw a text saying the alpha was running a little late but should be there in five minutes.

They talked about work while they waited and that seemed to settle Sam's nerves. And then the real test came waltzing through the door. Cas noticed Dean walking up over Sam's shoulder and waved him over. Well, this was it. Castiel believed that his two friends were going to hit it off. Their personalities seemed like they would blend well.

Sam stood to meet his date. He felt like he was about to barf. Dating was not his thing, this would go nowhere, he knew that, but still- shit. There stood a very familiar alpha. The bartender. Charlie had jinxed it. “Dean.” This could not get any worse. Sam could hardly take in any air. 

Dean was no better. His confusion and annoyance just utterly wrecking his brain. Hadn't this guy just rejected him the other day? And that brought a grin to his face, because now he had the omega- wait, no. The beta in a dating situation. He could have sworn he got a whiff of omega for a second.

“Sammy.”

Castiel watched the exchange with growing understanding “You two have already met.” It wasn't a question but a conclusion drawn from their reactions. “Well, you both might as well sit. You're blocking the walkway.” They slid into the booth, Sam more reluctant by the second to be here. Also, ‘Sammy’? Ugh. Something told him that the alpha was liking this situation a whole lot more than he was.

“So, how did you meet because apparently I'm out of the loop here.” The beta started when it seemed that Sam and Dean were simply content with staring at each other from across the table with Cas in the middle of the U shaped booth.

“He came in a week and a half ago with a friend from work. I saved him from some huge ass alpha and even got his phone fixed for him. We started flirting so I thought I had a chance but then he went and said he was not interested.” Dean explained accusingly. 

Sam narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms defensively “First of all, I could have taken care of that alpha on my own, and second of all, I wasn't flirting! I was being polite because you went through the trouble of getting my phone fixed.”

Cas gave a heavy sigh. It would seem that their personalities clashed more than they complimented. 

Dean leaned over the table towards Sam with an irritated glare as he gestured with an open hand at the table “So what is it, Sammy? Are you really not interested in me at all? Because I really don't want to waste my time here if that's the case.” Yeah, he was kinda pissy and probably acting like an alpha douche but his body seemed to be coursing with alpha want and it was hard to reel in when it came to Sam.

A growl came from deep in Dean's throat and Sam had to force himself not to expose his neck as he so desperately wanted to do. 

“Dean, you're being ridiculous.” Cas warned and the remembrance of the other beta’s presence seemed to calm him down a bit. Sam only looked on in some controlled neutral expression but Dean did take notice to the slight tremble in his hands. Shit. He had scared Sam, why else would he be shaking? 

Finding his voice again, the alpha pushed his hair back with his fingers “Fuck, um. I don't know what came over me there.” That made Sam roll his eyes “Alpha instincts.” Shivers ran down Dean's back at hearing Sam say alpha. He wanted to hear him call him that again, just one more time.

Dean grinned cautiously “Right.” The waitress eventually came around and they placed their orders. Sam got a salad which Dean eyed in disgust, Cas got spaghetti, and Dean got himself the biggest burger on the menu with a slice of blackberry pie.

Sam usually would be disgusted by the huge amount of unhealthy food but his omega loved an alpha with a big appetite. Thoughts like that really freaked Sam out. Sometimes he forgot about the wants inside him, his biology yearned to be an omega but Sam had all but forced his biology to fit into a beta lifestyle.

“Do you always eat like that?” Sam asked, a smile curling the corners of his mouth and Dean looked up at him from around a massive mouthful of meat. Cas had been about ready to break up another fight but was just as surprised as Dean was when Sam started to laugh. Apparently, he wasn't as grossed out by Dean's disgustingly full mouth as Castiel was. 

The alpha shrugged nonchalantly in reply, to do much else would end with half his mouthful spilling out. It was sure a surprise that Sam would laugh off the aspect that usually ruined most of his pick ups. It usually put people off when he got really into a good burger.

“So, Mr. Lawyer, what do you do outside of work?” That was a good question. One that Sam had no answer for because that was literally all he did. “I just listen to audiobooks.” Dean almost choked on his drink and gave him an incredulous smile “Ah, really? Anything else? Maybe somethin’ a little less… Granny-ish?” Sam grinned and gave a nod to that “Not really… what about you?”

They talk for a good forty minutes and Sam had been so immersed in Dean's stories and jokes he had completely forgotten about Castiel’s presence. The beta hadn't minded. This was their date after all. He was only there to play referee but it looked as though he wasn't needed anymore. And excellent timing, Crowley was calling him.

“Sorry, I've got to go. Crowley’s been oddly more cruel than usual. I better find out what he wants now.” Dean got up to let him out and after Cas had waved his goodbyes the alpha had turned back to his date intent on hearing the rest of Sam's story about meeting Charlie… but Sam had froze.

Castiel had left him. Alone. With an alpha. Dean was funny but also a major dick- and an Alpha! Sam's mind reminded him. He wasn't safe if he was alone, especially if this alpha was attracted to him, which he doubted. All this; the date and those amused grins were probably just used to get into Sam's pants. It was only rational to assume that that's what Dean was after. Sam and him had nothing in common besides that they were awful at jokes and pick up lines.

Panic. Sam had to leave. In his inward struggle, he didn't remember that stress could sometimes make the beta blocker weaker.

If Dean wasn't so good at reading people's expressions he would have thought that he could scent the fear on the beta. He looked back at the door where Cas had disappeared through and then turned back to Sam with a sigh. 

“I get it. You don't wanna be alone with me. You don't trust me to behave myself, right Sammy?” Sam watched him warily so Dean tried to lighten the mood a bit “I had no idea betas could be such worry warts.”

Sam stood from the table and slapped a twenty down on the table “I… have bad experiences with alphas.” Sam mumbled and Dean's eye glinted either in curiosity of anger. It was hard to tell. Sam gave Dean his hand to shake “Anyway, it was nice to properly meet you but I'm not really looking to date you so this is goodbye.”

He tried to get away, but the alpha held fast to his hand. Sam jerked back a step and looked confused and wary to his capture. Dean dug a pen from his pocket, showed it to the untrusting beta with a small shake then started to write a phone number on a napkin. “I'm busy most days and am shit when it comes to understanding acronyms…” 

He folded the napkin and placed it in Sam’s hand with an easy smile. “Also, I can't take or receive pictures- ‘s a shame, I know it. But I've been known to be one hellofa talker… so, hit me up if you ever wanna talk?”

What the hell was that? Sam felt a smile try to creep onto his face at the other’s stiff words but pushed it down and raised an eyebrow. Why was this alpha trying so hard? It wasn't as if he knew Sam was some rare male omega and Sam was sure with his pretty face, Dean could have any beta he wanted. So why him? 

The beta nodded slowly and Dean finally let go of his hand. Sam walked out much calmer than he almost had before Dean stopped him. The alpha inside Dean was purring in delight. The more Sam resisted the more he wanted him. He sure got lucky finding such an odd beta.


	12. Apple Pie Sunday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh, I couldn’t really think of a good title for this chapter. Enjoy~

Dean worked most days- had worked everyday up until about a year ago when he started taking Sundays off. He hadn't ‘found god’ or any propaganda bullshit like that. He was a firm believer that if there was a God up there, he was checked out and didn't give a fuck about the tiny men and women he had thrown into this world. No, that Sunday was dedicated to two things;

Grocery shopping and meeting up with his father- occasionally, Cas would come over later after work.

Since that day, when John had left Dean to answer for the crimes he had put his son up to, John had been in and out of prison for petty crimes and had been in rehab for his alcoholism at least twelve times. Dean had given up on his dad from changing and had told him to go fuck himself whenever he was in the area to mooch off Dean.

Then John Winchester had been cruising the backwater roads of West Virginia, drunk off his rocker and had crashed the truck he had stolen in the last town. The report the police officer had given Dean of the incident had said he had swerved to avoid a cargo truck and that the car had flipped three time before coming to a stop upside down in a ditch. The officer had also told Dean how lucky John was to be alive. The then twenty-eight year old alpha had responded to that by declaring he wanted nothing to do with John Winchester anymore. Who gave a fuck about someone that doesn't even try to get out of the shit around them? 

Dean had turn twenty-nine the year before, and he could remember vividly the rage that had shook his very core when he came home to his father sitting on the landing of his apartment. His face was clean shaven and he hadn't reeked of whiskey but Dean hadn't believed him for one second when his father claimed he had been sober for a year. John had left on threat of his son calling the cops on him but he had left a birthday present for Dean.

It was poorly wrapped and was just a framed picture of when Dean was four. John was teaching his son how to do a card trick and Dean looked like he was consecrating really hard on the fan of cards in his hand. He had known his father was showing up with too little too late but the instinctual need to be with his pack- his family, had forced him to reach out to his father.

Since then, at least one Sunday a month (sometimes more) they would meet up and shoot the shit. They never talked in Dean's apartment, knowing that the older alpha’s scent in Dean's territory would trigger a fight for dominance.

Dean wasn't really in the mood to meet up for lunch with his old man. He had a gnarly hangover from a particularly lonely and destructive night before. Sam hadn't texted or called him and it had been a week since their date. He hadn't been expecting much of anything, he told himself but then when he had gotten literally nothing at all he had realized how stupid and pathetic he was being. 

He had gone three and a half weeks without hooking up with someone because he couldn't get that tall beta out of his head and he was getting a bit desperate. He had promised himself to go pick up someone else the night before but had ended up drinking himself unconscious in his messy living room.

If Cas heard about this he would probably give him that reprimanding ‘I’m disappointed in you’ look he always did when he learned of Dean’s all night benders. He was the only friend that Dean had told about his career criminal daddy and run away mommy. Cas had taken it upon himself to try and get the alpha sober over the years. It was a nice gesture, but between the alcoholism that ran in his blood and the fact that Dean worked at a bar, Castiel learned that he was fighting a losing war- though, he did still try to be there if his friend was planning on drinking so he wouldn't be unmonitored.

John was staring intently at his ancient flip phone. His unshaven face etched with age and a much older looking leather jacket than Dean's was draped over his shoulders. He was waiting for his son. Sure, sure. But from where the younger Winchester stood by the entrance of the diner he could already read the predictable expression on his father’s face; impatiens. There was a “job” John would rather be handling than meeting up with his goodie-two-shoes of a son.

It was not Dean's day.

He plopped himself into the booth seated across from John who only glanced up at him briefly before turning back his phone, typing a reply to some contact. Dean threw his hands up in exasperation and announced incredulously “Well, hello to you too. Don't mind me, I'm just your only freakin' son who is more important than any shady ass deal you're thinking of making.” 

A moment of uninterrupted typing, then John snapped the phone closed and offered Dean a stern, insincerely sincere smile. 

“Hey, Dean. You're looking like you've got a pretty bad hangover and I can smell it on you. You know, you didn't have to force yourself to come.” ‘Yeah, well, forcing myself to be here is the only ways this is gonna happen.’ Dean thought in a twist of misdirected irritation but didn't dare to say it out loud. He had never known his father to be a murderer but he had seen him beat a man unconscious because he caught Dean breaking into his store after hours when he was young. And then there had been the long nights of screaming and slaps and kicks when there had been a bottle involved that the younger Winchester would rather not think about. John had a temper that Dean didn't want to have directed at him for any reason.

“Just had a bit of a rough night last night. Nothin’ I can't handle.” John ‘mh’ed in understanding and took a drink of his coffee. “I'm in town for a few days.” Dean signaled for the waitress “Got some work? I mean, ‘course you do.” Dean looked back at his father with a humorless smile “Whatever kind of illegal shit you plan on doing, keep it away from my side of town.”

The tension around them broke as the oblivious waitress approached their table. Dean order a piece of apple pie and John got a refill of coffee. When she had stepped away to get Dean his order, John mumbled mildly “No offense, Dean. But you live in the slums of this town. The target for this little side job is probably worth more than your whole apartment.” And then, almost- almost hopeful sounding he tacked on “Interested?”

Dean snarled, drawing some looks around the diner and John held a hand up to show he didn't mean to fight the younger, more aggressive alpha. “I was just checking. I thought I saw that glint in your eye that you had whenever you got excited about a job. But I guess not.” “Yeah.” Dean gritted out in response. 

And then his phone buzzed in his pocket. He dug it out. Anything to distract him from his destructive father. When he read the screen his heart seized in his chest and all his irritation and anger seemed to melt away. 

SAM: “bored out of my mind. You?”

A smile threatened to break out on his face but remembered that John was still across from him, so he sent back a quick reply, keeping his expression cool and composed.

DEAN: “Equally bored. U @ wrk?”

John sighed “Look, Dean. I know I was a shit dad- still am. But I really hate the way you treat me.” He leaned over the table with his voice hushed so that only his son could hear him “I’m workin’ real hard to be back in your life but you keep shutting me out. This needs effort from both sides, ya know.”

SAM: “Finished work early. I’ve got nothing better to do”

SAM: “So I'm texting you.”

Dean started forming a response to Sam as the waitress came by their table with a tasty looking slice of apple pie. “Uh-huh. So what I'm hearing is that you don't think I'm trying hard enough to keep you from running off. Sure, dad. That's the problem here.” 

He stopped the waitress as she turned back towards the counter and gave her a charming smile “Could I get me one of those to-go containers? Yeah, I won't be eating it here after all.”

John looked less than pleased “You're being melodramatic. You turned out alright, stop acting like I abused you or something.” Dean got up and glared at his father incredulously “are you stupid or just old? You hit me all the time when you were drunk- and because of you, I don't even know who the hell my mother is!” 

The whole diner fell silent and Dean realized he was growling. He cleared his throat and focused on calming himself down. The waitress stood to the left of him with the to-go box of pie in hand and unsure what to do in the situation. She handed Dean the container and he muttered his thanks to her before leaving the diner.

DEAN: “Wanna meet up? I'm gonna be eating pie in Prairie Park all by myself.”

Right, Sam didn't like being alone with him. Dean drove his baby to the park and got out, he looked at his phone and saw Sam hadn't responded. Yeah, he had expected as much. He sure was a skittish guy for being on the tall side with a well shaped body. Dean could just picture how far the muscle coverage traveled. He really wanted to run his his nails across that tan skin and- Dean was shaken from his daydreaming when his phone buzzed in his hand.

SAM: “Why are you eating pie by yourself in a park?”

DEAN: “Because I've got nobody to share it with. And also PIE. It can be enjoyed anywhere.”

SAM: “Solid reasoning skills. What if I told you I don't like pie all that much?”

Dean sat at a park table and had to read that text again before just typing the first thing he thought of.

DEAN: “I'll only forgive you if you show up.”

SAM: “Then I better hurry, huh?”

A grin broke out across Dean's face and he sent one last text,

DEAN: “Damn straight!”

Maybe it wasn't going to be as awful as he had expected. There was a burning in Dean's chest and for once, he didn't think about how horribly he could mess this up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point in the story I’d say it’s been a month since they first met. I don’t know why I did it but every meeting here in the beginning seems to be spaced out by a week.
> 
> Just a bit of information in case you were wondering.


	13. Cool Guy Type

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

Sam was internally beating himself up. He had told himself to not do one thing- ONE thing and he had cracked under the pressure after only a week. Dean's phone number, crudely written out on a napkin had sat on the counter in Sam's kitchen because he couldn't bring himself to toss it. When he woke up to the empty apartment and shuffled into the kitchen for breakfast it was right there. After a light day at the office he would stumble into the kitchen to splash some water on his face and there the phone number would be.

Finally, on Sunday, he had given in when his boss told him to take the rest of the day off. Only, Sam had had nothing to do. He didn't own a tv or any form of entertainment, really. So he had resorted to texting Dean as he wiped down the apartment. It made it smell like an overly sanitized hospital but he didn't like to leave the smell of omega in the air just in case someone came to the door.

And then Sam had gotten too into the conversation, too wrapped up in the alpha, and had told Dean he would meet up with him. ‘What the hell, Sam?’ He could hear himself scream inside his head. Sam smacked his palm into his forehead and gave a groan. He would have to request another box of hormone and heat blockers. He had a week and a half’s supply left but he was thinking about doubling his dosage of the hormone blocker because he wasn't able to keep them in check as he usually was lately.

There was always something so satisfying when he first took his dose. A feeling of no feeling. Not being able to tell just by someone's scent that they were upset or horney. Maybe that was all this whole thing with Dean was about. Sam was starting to settle into a dark train of thought but then he had received another text from Dean.

DEAN: Damn straight!”

It was as if his omega physically pushed him to get up off the couch. Would it really be that bad to let someone in? His mind asked timidity and for once the stronger voice was hesitant but of course, it agreed. Yes, yes it would be very bad to let someone in- especially an alpha!

But he left his apartment anyway. Knowing full well this was not the smartest idea he had ever had. 

Dean was as he had said he would be; eating a slice of pie in Prairie Park. Sam had to take a second to recall what he was doing after he stepped out of the cab but upon seeing the increasing familiar alpha, Sam's body seemed to coast on autopilot over to the stone table Dean sat at.

He slid down onto the ring of the bench around the table across from Dean just as the latter shoveled the last of the pie into his mouth. Sam raised an eyebrow at him but it was more in amusement over anything else. It seemed that Dean wasn't much for table manners. Dean froze for a moment when he saw Sam and then swallowed his huge mouthful quickly. Banging on his chest with the side of his fist as to get rid of the lump of not fully chewed food.

“Hey there.” An amused smile broke out on Sam's face and he point to the corner of his mouth “You got a little whip cream…” Dean's eyes lingered on Sam's mouth for a tad too long before meeting his eye as if to make sure he hadn't gotten caught. Sam chose to ignore it. “Right.” Dean licked it away with flick of his tongue and the omega felt something turn uncomfortably in his stomach. He would definitely need to order more blocker, this was getting ridiculous.

“So, do you always come to this park to eat pie?” It slipped out of Sam's lips before he could even properly think it up. Dean made an over exaggerated expression of uncertainty “Eh, no. I usually do all my pie eatin at another park. This is a special occasion.” Sam was sure of it now. A wide smile took over his face.

“You're a dork.” Dean looked taken back by the sudden bluntness but his grin only grew. He had a feeling he had caught sight of the real Sam for a second and he was beyond curious. Feigning offense, Dean corrected “I am not a dork! I’d like to believe I’m more of a cool guy type, ya know?” Sam rolled his eyes “Oh, really.” 

Dean didn't seem like an alpha like this. He wasn't trying to size Sam up and dominate him. From what Sam had seen of him, Dean treated everyone the same regardless of gender- That wasn't true, not in the way that was important, anyways. Sam had never seen Dean interact with an omega. What if it was different with them? Sam's fears and worries were pushed away as they talked. And they talked a lot. The lights had turned on in the park by the time they finally decided it was time to call it a night.

Sam had learned that Dean was big on classic rock, he had been all over the country for his dad's work when he was younger, Cas and him were like brothers with how much shit they did to each other, and that Dean loved his Impala just as much as he loved a good piece of pie. It had all been pretty superficial things he realized on the cab ride home. They both had avoided talking about their families (besides when Sam had slipped up a bit and mentioned his mom always made the best pie but he had quickly steered the conversation in a different direction) and romantic relationships were off limits for both it seemed.

That was fine, Sam guessed. It wasn't as if he wanted anything to come of whatever they were doing. But he had to admit, he hadn't had such an honest conversation in a long time. He had omitted, bluffed, and outright avoided certain things to what he told Dean but what he had said was the truth and that was something he couldn't say much about when it came to conversations with anyone else.

Maybe, and it was a maybe, he reminded himself. It was okay to let this person in just a little?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was digging around in my stories folder and found one of the first Dean/Sam stories I attempted to write. It’s not half bad, so I’ve been tweaking it and working on finishing it.
> 
> So far it has six chapters and there is no working title but I plan to finish it soon. I will probably start posting a chapter of that story on the days I’m not updating this one when it’s finished.
> 
> Obviously it will be shorter though. I estimate ten chapters at most. 
> 
> I hope you look forward to more from me!


	14. Indentured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lost my phone, nearly had a heart attack, found it. My excuse for posting late. Enjoy~

If he wasn't in a legally binding deal with the king of this hell, Castiel would quit his job. Just that week, a young Omega woman came into the office crying, pleading with one of Crowley's underlings not to take her house away from her. The woman had been escorted out of the office by security as she pleaded, yelling about her two daughters and disabled husband. 

It broke Castiel's heart to take away everything the people who couldn't pay back their loans (with an outrageous interest tacked on) had left. If there was something he had learned in his hometown it was that empathy and charity were a good thing to practice. He was pretty sure Crowley didn't understand the concept of either of those values. 

As a punishment for speaking out of term about the amount of sleep his boss got, Castiel had been told to sit in on every meeting Crowley had and take notes- tidy, neat ones, he learned the hard way the first day. The temperamental alpha had wadded up the stack of notes and thrown them in his trash bin calling all of Castiel’s overtime “complete rubbish” because the beta had added side notes on some of the pages.

Castiel did learn from shadowing Crowley that the alpha did a lot more work than everyone in the office gave him credit for. If he wasn't in a meeting he was taking a call or going out to meet with a client. But that didn’t make Castiel like his boss anymore than he already didn’t.

When Dean had told his friend that the deal he had with Crowley was called indentured servitude he hadn't quite understood what he meant but now he was starting to see it.

The last meeting of the day came to a close with Crowley shaking hands with a poor fool who didn't know what he was getting himself into and that left Castiel and his boss to gather up all the paperwork and folders. Castiel reached over the table to grab one paper that had drifted further away, and stood up again. He went to turn back toward his boss to hand him his stack of notes on the meetings that day and was surprised to find Crowley a lot closer than he remembered him being.

“Thanks, Angel. You've really been working to pay off your debt to me lately.” He snatched the stack of papers from the beta’s hands and skimmed through them briefly. Cas watched him carefully for a moment before venturing to ask “How much more do I still owe you?”

The alpha narrowed his eyes “And why would you need to know that?” “Because, Crowley, you're not a very kind man and I would rather work somewhere that my skills are valued more.” Crowley blinked and then let a wicked smile blossomed across his face “You just broke my heart.”

Castiel felt a chill run down his spine but stood his ground “Sometimes I wonder if you even have a heart.” And there it was, Crowley's face was turning red, signaling his anger flaring “And why's that, hm?” Castiel knew he should shut up. That an angry alpha was not a good thing but he went right on talking. 

“That omega mother today, her and her family are homeless now because of you. People come to you for help but all you do is trick them and take all their money away-”

“Not true and you know so, angel.” The alpha growled. Castiel instantly closed his mouth as Crowley straighten his own suit jacket, then spoke in a much more rational manner “Only the stupid ones who don't actually understand the concept of business strategy lose everything. As you very well know we have many successful clients who take the money I give them and make a profit from it.”

“Then why not turn away people who you know won't be able to pay you back?” Crowley grabbed hold of Castiel's tie and yanked him down a couple inches so they were eye level and grabbed hold of the beta's jaw, twisting his face back and forth to get a better look at him.

“Well, aren't you just adorable. If I did that, I wouldn't make nearly as much money now would I? Of course there are the few that don't own anything worth repossessing and I do turn those people away.” Castiel sighed tiredly “You aren't going to change my mind at any rate. As soon as I repay what I owe you, I’ll be looking for a new job.”

Crowley let go of Castiel's jaw and studied him for a moment as the latter rubbed at his jaw “What if I was willing to let that omega that came in today keep her house?” “I would say you're lying or there's a catch.” That made the alpha grin “Right you are, angel.”

“What are your conditions?” The beta ventured warily “Very simple. See, I'll add her debt to yours. Oh but that would definitely be a drawback on your plans for leaving, now wouldn't it?” He was teasing his employee, Castiel knew as much. Crowley was an evil, evil man. 

“I will take on her debt then.” “Such a martyr. Let me draw up a new contract, yeah?” He reached into one of his folders and grabbed out a contract. Suddenly, Castiel wasn't feeling so good about the deal. The top of the paper read as; Castiel E. Novak’s revised work agreement. When the beta gave him a lost look, one that had faded more after his schooling but still showed its face every once and awhile. Crowley rolled his eyes in annoyance and answered the question so obviously on the edge of the other’s lips.

“I had a feeling something like this would come up sooner or later so I made it in advance to save everyone the wait. Sign here and initial here and here and everyone can be happy.” A conflict built up in Castiel's mind. He didn't trust Crowley to keep his word but the thought of not helping that poor woman and her family went against everything he believed in. He could still see the shattered woman's broken face as she begged for help and everyone ignored her. 

He didn't care what Crowley was up to. If there was a chance that that woman would be able to keep her house, whatever his sadistic boss wanted to do to him was alright. He leaned down to where the document laid out on the table and filled it out.

When the beta was finished, Crowley quickly grabbed up the contract with a grin, folded it, and tucked it into his suit jacket. “Pleasure doing business with you, doll face.” Castiel grabbed his things, tossing on his brown trench coat and gave his boss a look of mild irrigation “See you tomorrow then.”

Crowley watched with hungry eyes as the other left. He was going to eat that beta's soul, and after that, the rest of him wouldn't taste so bad either so he might as well try everything he had just bought


	15. Can’t or Won’t?

He really, really hadn't meant to get so caught up in someone’s life. But Sam was different than anyone he had ever met and he couldn't stop himself from wanting to know more about him. Benny had teased, saying that Dean had ‘a lovesick puppy-dog look’ on his face at work. Dean of course had shoved his boss and half heartedly told him to go fuck himself but he began to wonder if that's what was happening. Was he falling for Sam? It was hard to tell yet so he put a tack in that train of thought to come back and look at when he had an answer.

Sam had started to text him when he wasn't busy, which Dean was disappointed to find out was not that much time. They chatted about what they were doing, Sam liked to complain about his annoying coworkers and Dean always got a good laugh out of it. They talked a bit about their fathers once, when Dean mentioned his dad was in town. He didn't say much, just that he wasn't on the greatest of terms with him and Sam had seemed to know the feeling. He had learned that Sam hated his father and wished he would leave the country for good. Dean hadn't had much to say in response to that. He wasn't going to pry and he didn't know what Sam's father had done to make him so resentful so he left it alone and let Sam change the subject.

Charlie had shown up with her girlfriend on one of Dean's shifts and they had talked and joked while the alpha and her beta threw a couple drinks back. Charlie had then asked a question that she seemed to have been struggling not to ask the whole time they had been talking.

“Soooo, do you remember the guy I came in here with last time?”

A crooked grin settled on Dean's face as he played it off “Yeah, Sammy and I have hung out a few times since then. Even managed to get his number.” 

Charlie had been shocked and disappointed that Sam hadn't told her anything. They had talked for a whole lot longer before the two ladies had called it a night. Dean had taken double shifts that night so took an hour nap in the employee room before going back to work. He made sure to send Sam a goodnight message at 10:40, knowing from chatting that the beta was in bed by 11 most nights.

When Dean came into work the next day he was feeling good about himself. Better than he had in a long time. This thing that he was building with Sam made the rainy day seem a hell of a lot better than it really was. And even though Benny hadn't asked him to, Dean went ahead and wiped down all the booths and mopped the floor. He was in that good of a mood.

“What’s got you grinnin’ like a fool, brother?” Benny had asked after watching his friend work harder than he had in years. Dean gave him a smirk and the other alpha just knew by that look that his friend had found someone. Not just one of those someones that actually stayed the whole night but one of them good for a lifetime types. He remembered when he had that look what felt like such a long time ago and he hoped to the lord himself that Dean would be able to keep that happiness for longer than he himself had. Of course, Benny was less of a preacher man than that so he just gave his friend a meaningful nod and started wiping down the bar. “Best be making sure you don't let it get all messy.”

Some time around five-thirty was when he usually took a dinner break with Cas but Crowley had been dicking with his best friend lately and making him stay to whatever time he wanted. He had gotten a text from said best friend saying he wouldn't be able to make it that night either and for once, Dean was glad. 

It was football night and though Benny only had one tv where other bars had five or six, some diehard loyal customers refused to go anywhere else to watch the game. The bar was swamped with Jayhawk fans of all kinds. All piled around the tv above the bar. The volume was crank up and drinks were goin’ around the room almost faster than Dean and Benny's daughter Elizabeth could pour.

Dean personally wasn't big on sports but hey, football day was always the day he got the most tips so he wasn't complaining. But it also meant having to sneak bits of food in between pouring drinks because there was no way he would be able to take a break.

And then an unsuspected person was walking right through the door. Sam paused when he saw the massive amount of people and turned to leave when Dean called out to him. “Sam!” The alpha had to almost laugh at the comedic way Sam's shoulders dropped at being caught sneaking away. He turned back towards the bar, looking unsure as Dean waved him over.

With stiff movement, Sam came up to the bar looking around at the crowd of people and the alpha handing drinks out. “Is this a bad tim-” “No! No… well, kinda. But I wanted to see you.”

“Are you sure? Because I could leave.” Dean held up his hand “just… stay right there. I just gotta do some stuff real quick and then I'll be able to talk to you. Do you mind?” Sam shrugged but gave a smile “Well, kinda.” Dean smiled back “Good.” 

When the game actually started, the crowd seemed to calm down a bit and focus intently on the screen. Benny gave him the go ahead to take his thirty minute dinner with a wink. Dean took Sam into the employee break room in the back of the kitchen and they sat on the couch together, much further apart than Dean would have liked but he wouldn't push it. Sam seemed pretty jumpy at the moment.

“So what's up?” It was casual but he knew enough about Sam as not to start out with something like ‘Are you okay?’ He hated stuff like that. The beta looked up at Dean then back down to his hands. “I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing. Dean, you're a good guy, really. I uh, like you- as a friend- but I can't date you.”

Dean sighed heavily “What does that even mean, Sam? What do you mean you can't date me? Do you mean you don't want to date me or do you really mean for some goddamn reason, you can't date me?” He sighed again and scrubbed at the back of his head with nails as he forced himself to calm down. “You're sending off some mixed signals here, Sammy.”

Sam's stomach turned painfully. An overwhelming urge to give it all up and just pull Dean to him and hug him invaded his system when the scent of sadness settled between them. Why did he have to push Dean away again? He was such a kind alpha, he would take care of him, maybe even love him. What was wrong with that? He would lose his job for one thing and maybe even put in jail for using illegal scent blockers followed by who knows how many heats and pregnancies and then what if Dean treated him differently because he was an omega?

“It's a little of both, honestly. I just don't think we-” Dean scooted closer to him, not breaking eye contact. Sam was about to stand and excuse himself when Dean said in a cautious, almost pleading voice as he moved in closer “Just let me try something… just let me…” the alpha took notice to the way Sam's face reddened and his breathing picked up.

He knew what Dean wanted to do, the alpha’s hand hesitatingly touched Sam’s check and the beta flinched looking at the alpha with an expression Dean couldn't place “Dean, stop.” That sure as hell didn't sound like he meant those words. It was now or never he supposed, so he went for it.

Lips met lips for the first time and Dean had to stop himself from moaning because god damn, Sam's lips were too perfect to be real. He move slowly and gently but the beta had frozen up. Dean hated the fact he couldn't scent the air to find out what Sam was feeling. He reluctantly pulled away a few inches to meet Sam’s eyes. He looked shocked and flustered and then Dean saw his eyes flick down to Dean's lips then back up to his eyes.

“I have to go.” Sam finally said with a shaky breath. Dean stood with him and shoved his hands into his pockets to stop himself from grabbing hold of Sam. “Sam, I-” “I have to think about this, Dean. I don't date. Ever. And now you do that and I-” Sam was panicking, he ran his shaky hand threw his hair and recollected himself quickly before repeating “I have to go.” He pulled open the door to the employee break room. 

Dean followed after him “Sammy-” “Stop calling me that!” Was all Sam called in return as he pushed the alleyway exit open and disappeared into the night. The alpha inside Dean was distraught and wanted to go get Sam. To not let him go until he showed the beta his place- no. Not that. He just wanted Sam to be alright and he had an awful feeling that he had just messed up everything he had been working to build with Sam. God, he was such a knotheaded idiot.

Dean had to return to his shift but Benny gave one look at his friend and told him he should head home. He arrived to his dirty, dark apartment and felt a crippling loneliness burn hollowly in his chest.

His phone buzzed just as he opened up the cabinet for the whisky and he turned away from the booze to grab up his phone from the counter. 

SAM: “I need to think about things.”

Well, it wasn't a yes but it also wasn't an outright rejection and that gave Dean some hope. He decided to put back the whisky and settled on a beer. 

He could wait for someone like Sam, if the latter would still consider him. He just hoped his moment of weakness hadn’t fucked everything up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you need to give someone that extra little push...
> 
> Other times you really ought to not push someone...
> 
> What do you think is the appropriate answer for this situation?
> 
> We shall see what Dean’s choices lead to soon enough~ hope you stick around for more.


	16. Garth Is The Greatest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey-o! Loved hearing your thoughts on the last chapter. interesting to see all your interesting thoughts and opinions on the matter of the kiss.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The bathroom light was turned on. It was some time after four in the morning but Sam was up. It was the heat. Not in the air but under his skin that drove him out of the comfort of his bed to find his medication. He hadn't had a heat since his first one ten years ago but he sure as hell was hot remembered the horrible burning cramps in his pelvis that worked as a warning to the actual heat on its way.

He stared at the mirror's reflection of his red face shiny with a slick layer of sweat. That was not attractive at all. He scrunched his nose in disgust and pulled the mirror open to reveal the medicine cabinet. There, he had a decent amount of heat blockers left, enough to last him three more weeks but his recent double dosage of hormone and extra thick applications of scent blocker left Sam with a worrying low amount. It would last him a week at most.

Well, guess it was about time to call up Garth, he mused in irritation as he filled the syringe with his emergency fast acting heat blocker. Garth had been very specific about not using it if he didn't have to because of something like, “using it too much could make you sterile” or whatever. Sam really didn't care at the moment, he was starting to feel the burn of pain in his insides and he wanted to get rid of that feeling right away.

Twenty minutes after the injection his uncalled for heat had stopped completely. Sam was sitting on the bathroom floor staring off into something beyond the toilet across from him. He waited a while after his body had calmed down before fishing out a rag and a bottle of cleaner. The scent of omega on the verge of his heat floating in the air heavily. If Sam even thought of opening his front door at that moment every alpha and omega in his apartment complex would be able to smell him.

So he took a shower and scrubbed his body until his skin was irritated and red. Hissing in pain when he accidentally broke the skin on his chest. Sam knew that an omega denied their heat for as long as him would be ten times as potent if they did have another heat so he had been extra careful to keep up with his pills… he paused in the middle of drying himself off. He had taken all his medication on time so why the hell had he almost gone into heat just now?

Whatever it was, Sam was uneasy about it and wanted a fix as soon as possible. He picked up his phone and went down to Garth’s number, pushing the call button without a moment's hesitation. He would be awake. His beta dealer always seemed to be awake no matter what time he called.

[This is Garth, who may I be speaking to?] an obviously fake British accent asked.

Sam rolled his eyes, this was a thing he both hated and liked about the man. 

“It's Sam, listen I-”

[You know the rules ‘Sam’ if that is even you. Password first.] the extra security measures was the thing Sam appreciated about Garth but his endless chatter and stupid password choice were things Sam could live without.

With a sigh Sam said the password “Garth is the greatest. One, two, three, six”

[I am, aren't I? Howdy-do Sam! What can I do for you this lovely night?] fake British broke way to a heavy southern drawl. Sam thought of telling him everything that had been happening but he doubted that a beta would understand what he was talking about so he simply went to ordering “I'm running low on scent and hormone blocker. I need more, Garth.”

There was a long moment of silence [Wait. What's goin on, Sam? You should have a three week supply left.] now Sam was irritated “I know that. I've been having to double the dosage. For some reason my scent and hormones are going crazy. So can I buy some from you or do I have to go somewhere else?”

[jees, you weren't kidding. Those are some whack hormones I'm hearin. You haven't experienced any other problems, have you?] Sam thought about the cramps he had just had and sighed heavily “I almost went into heat a half an hour ago. I had to use the emergency blocker. Do you have any idea why all the things I bought from you are failing to work?”

[Hey, it ain't my product that's the problem! Those recipes are golden. Now, I wanna ask you some questions so don't get all crazy on me when I ask, okay? This is just to figure out what's going on.] “Fine.” 

[Good. Now, have you had sex with an alph-] “No.” Sam answered with a growl  
[No need to get snippy, Sam. Only tryin’ to help. What about mastrobation? Have you been mastrobating more frequently?] “No.” The omega glared at the toilet aggravatedly. He hated this kind of questioning. [Any swelling in your scent gland?] Sam felt over the sensitive patch of skin on his neck but didn’t feel any swelling “Not that either.”

[I don't know what to tell you Sam. I've never heard of an omega whose blockers failed to work without something like sex messing it all up. Has anything changed in your life recently? Anything at all?]

And then dread filled Sam. But that couldn't be it, could it? “Yesterday, an Alpha kissed me.” Another pause and then Sam could hear Garth give a snort of laughter and the sound of fast fingers on a keyboard. 

[Well look at you~ good for you buddy, but I've never heard of one kiss setting off someone’s heat. Here's what I'll do since you've been such a good customer over the years. I'll bring you two three month orders for the price of one, and I'll make sure their extra strength. Sound good?]

“Thanks, Garth. I honestly don't know how I would survive without you.”

[Awe, that just made my night, thank you for helping to put a roof over my head with all your orders! See you at the usual pickup spot and time tomorrow night, then?] Sam pulled himself up from the floor and shook his head to flick off some remaining water droplets “Sounds good. Well, see you then, I guess. Night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, in this AU I have made Garth a drug dealer XD. 
> 
> Also, have you ever started something and it started out small but got bigger and bigger? Yeah, that’s what is happening with the other Sam and Dean story I am writing. Working title is “What Lies Under The Surface” so look forward to that~


	17. Brooding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey~ as you may or  
> may not have noticed, this chapter is being posted much earlier in the day than normal. 
> 
> That is because it’s Valentines Day~!
> 
> Ah, yes. The day of love. What better way than to celebrate than posting TWO chapters today?
> 
> So here is your gift from me to you on this special day. The second chapter to be posted will be put up at my regular posting time of about 11:00 P.M
> 
> Hope you enjoy~!

“Cas, can't you talk to him for me?” 

The storm raging outside had let up but it was still cloudy. Castiel yawned and reclined further into Dean's armchair. They both had the day off amazingly and were lazing about with not much more to do then watch tv and old movies. But all Dean could talk about was Sam. From where Dean was laid out on the couch, Cas could see that hopelessly lost expression on Dean unshaven face.

“I don't know what to tell you, Dean. After what you told me I think you should just wait and see what Sam has to say. He may surprise you.”

“It's just so nerve wracking to wait- why do I have to wait?!” 

Sometimes, dealing with Dean was like dealing with a five year old. Cas rolled his eyes and said slowly, just in case the alpha didn't get the picture “Because, Sam told you to.”

A lull in the conversation settled between them for a good twenty minutes which was filled with the gunfire of Bananza. Castiel was exhausted from his ‘training’ for his new position at the loan office and he felt himself start to feel heavy. His eyes drifted shut for barely a moment when Dean asked “Have you heard from Sam at all lately? I’m starting to worry about him.”

“If it makes you feel any better Dean, I'll personally go over to his apartment and  
check on him tomorrow, okay? I don't mean to accuse you of anything but it is your own fault for being greedy, Dean. He told you to stop.”

“Yes, Cas. I was there. I know what he freakin said.” The alpha growled as he sat up. He stared as Ben Cartwright and his boys got into yet another shoot out with a group of bandits on the tv. “I just… have trouble controlling myself around him, okay?”

“You're talking as if Sam was an ome-” “I know the difference, Cas.” The beta raised his hands in surrenderance, knowing full well his limits to poking fun at the alpha, especially in an area as delicate as Dean's feelings.

Castiel waited a beat, the sound of gunfire filling Dean’s small apartment living room, then he slapped his hands on his thighs and announced “I’ll grab the chips, then.” He stood, and headed to the kitchen that laid to the back of the coach.

When Cas had left the room, Dean grabbed hold of his face and gave a little tug. He felt like he was going insane. Dean Winchester prided himself on a reputation of ‘good wholesome fun’ with his flings. He never completely let his alpha lose on anyone- at least, never when it came to his desire. There was no denying that he had gotten into rip-roaring fights with other alphas when he had had one too many. But then, why had he let his desire push further with Sam? 

Sure, it had been just an innocent little kiss but Sam had told him to stop and what had the alpha done? he had gone and done it anyway. It had been this burning, almost painful feeling in his chest not to let Sam leave without giving him a kiss. That maybe it was his only shot and he had to- for the love of God, he just had to kiss Sam. His alpha was going to drive him insane if he couldn’t manage to control his desires.

He was starting to realize that maybe this was what it was like to be in love but with the clench of his teeth he pushed that thought from his mind. Maybe if he denied himself of thoughts like that, it would help to settle his alpha. If Dean could prevent himself from falling under those carnal desires spell, maybe he could stop himself before he fucked this up anymore. Maybe he’d still have a shot at showing Sam he wasn’t violent or forceful- he wasn’t a knothead.

The credits began to play on Bonanza and the channel was telling him that the marathon would be continuing into the next time slot but Dean wasn't really watching. His mind was wandering to Sam and imagining what he was up to or if he had thought about an alpha douche like him at all after what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look forward to the next chapter later tonight~


	18. Shady Alleyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some slight trigger warning here without ruining the content of this chapter.
> 
> Warning: Sam is attacked for horrible reasons.
> 
> Not really ‘enjoy’ but, uh... you know.

John licked his lips. He sat in his truck waiting patiently in a deserted alleyway. This was not the kind of job he was use to working. An uneasy feeling had began to form in his stomach at the thought of doing ‘this’ in his hometown. But then again, Dick- the guy who had recruited him for the job- said that he would give him half of the profits.

Intel had brought to Dick’s attention that a small time illegal scent block dealer had been showing up in Lawrence to sell things to a concealed omega. All John had to do was catch the omega and give her to Dick. The long time conman knew what his temporary employer wanted. 

The selling of omegas didn't bother John. He had long since stopped caring for their kind. That didn't mean he wanted anything to do with it. But, he was low on cash and an omega could sell for upwards of fifty-thousand. There was no way he could pass up a job like this.

So he sat in his truck and waited to see who was meeting the dealer who he had in his sights.

It had become almost ritualistic over the years; Garth would make the trip from Nashville to Lawrence in about nine hours, they would meet up around eleven o’clock behind an old abandoned steel factory. Same would pay Garth two grand (plus whatever gas money the dealer needed). If all was accounted for in the money department (it always was) Garth would give Sam a backpack chalked full of illegal hormone, scent, and heat blockers. 

It was worth every penny.

That night had seemed no different. Though, he was wondering how he wasn't going to look suspicious coming back to the cab he had taken that was waiting three blocks with the same backpack he had left with only a lot fuller.

Garth stood casually with his hands in his pockets, watching Sam walking up to him. The closer Sam drew the wider the beta’s smile became. Until finally, as Sam expected, Garth pulled him in for a quick hug. 

“There's my favorite client! You know you're the only one I deliver directly to?” Sam rolled his eyes but his own smile was ebbing at the corners of his mouth “Yeah, Garth. You've told me that almost every time we meet.”

Garth made an exaggerated ‘oops’ expression and patted Sam's arm good naturally “getttin’ tired of my one liners? Don't worry, I'll work on some new material.” He had slipped the backpack off his shoulder as he spoke and now unzipped the stuffed bag to show that it was all there. Sam slipped the identical backpack off his shoulders and showed Garth the money.

“See, this is why I said we both needed to get this backpack. It sure as hell can hold a lot more than those ones we had before.” They swapped bags and Sam felt the rush of wrongness like always. He wanted to get away as quickly as possible after they made deals. Garth knew as much and after flipping through the money he waved him off. “Pleasure donin’ business with you, Sam. Y'all have a goodnight!”

John watched the taller man shouldered the backpack with the pills and started to walk off at a fast pace. He was surprised to see that his target was a male omega let alone a well built, tall one. The bitch was pretending to be something he wasn't and it was about time he got a wake up call.

Sam’s mind celebrated another successful deal as he made he way back to the cab. Now he had six months dosage plus what he already had at home. He felt good about it. No way would he let his hormones get so out of control again. He would just need to balance out a higher level of medication to keep on top of it. Not being able to go to a doctor over the years had expanded Sam's degree from law into medical as he had to make sure he didn't overdo the medication or anything else. Though, he had almost OD in the past so as you may have guessed his knowledge was not as impressive as he had hoped.

When those thoughts had settled, Dean's flush lips against his mentally smacked his brain. He was still so conflicted over what to do. He didn't want to come out as an omega but he also found himself really liking Dean despite him being an alpha. Maybe he could build up the courage to explain his situation to Dean to see if he would be able to be with him, without being with that side of him.

Sam might have just had some bad experiences with alphas in the past. Dean might be able to change his mind that not all alphas are-

There was a harsh yank on the handle of his backpack and he was tugged into a dark side ally. It took Sam a half a second to even understanding what had happened. His instincts to run were screaming bloody murder but the guy- alpha, had pinned the omega to the wall with his hands squeezing painfully into his throat.

Sam started to kick and claw at the alpha shrouded in darkness. There was a growl in warning and the hands on his throat pressed a little harder. Sam stopped moving, in his racing mind he was trying to come up with a strategy. He couldn’t move, could barely breathe. His limbs were shaking helplessly and little whines of fear were rumbling out from deep in his chest. Fear was overwhelming his rationality, if he could just stop thinking like an omega for one goddamn second-

“Now, listen up, bitch.” The man spat, his voice was little more than a rumble of a growl and Sam forced himself to not flinch away from the demanding tone. “Someone actually wants you. They’re willing to pay a lot of goddamn money for you.” The rumble broke away to a tired, deep voice. “Make this easier on the both of us and don't struggle.”

Sam didn't make a move. His clarity of mind starting to rein in control once more. He would wait for his chance to strike. Now that his eyes had better adjusted to the ally's non existent lighting, he could see that the man had to be in his late forties, early fifties, he had dark hair and a close cut beard. It wasn't as if he could tell the police about this if he got out of this situation. The guy had obviously known what he really was and that scared the shit out of Sam. But he wouldn't let that fear overtake his body anymore. He would need to fight.

John watched the unmoving omega warily. He had expected him to put up more of a struggle but he knew even the strongest omegas could become weak to the commands of an alpha. Just as he had thought, a bitch pretending to be something he’s not. 

“Now, we’re gonna walk to my car and you're going to stay calm, no punchin’ or scratchin’- no screaming. I wouldn't want to turn you in all battered and bruised now would I? You’d be worth less.” It was a bluf. John was desperate, and he had a pretty good reason in his mind to hate shits like this one. But he wouldn't beat an omega. Call it the lingering of the past, but he couldn't hit an omega in the face. It made him feel sick.

Sam was directed out of the ally by a hand holding him by the neck tightly but not enough to cut off air supply all the way. There would no doubt be a nasty bruise. In the entrance of another ally sat a rusted bronze truck. 

The alpha reached for his keys in his pocket and that's when Sam decided to strike. In one quick movement, he tucked his chin into his neck, stepped to the side and kicked back into the man’s groin as hard as he could. The alpha groaned and slumped down halfway but Sam wasn't done. He elbowed the guy in the face and he fell to the wet asphalt. 

Rage, rage was bubbling up in the omega. John could scent it even through his blocker. He tried to get up but the taller man was already on him and with a swift kick to the face it was lights out for the alpha. 

Sam was breathing heavily as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He kicked him again and then he went up to the alpha’s truck and smashed his elbow through the glass. He went around to the passenger side and did the same. Ignoring the blood rushing down his arm from the act. He was pissed and scared and angry and all he wanted to do was cry but he wasn't going to let himself.

The cab driver had been a bit surprised by the sudden return of his passenger. Sam had practically ran up on him and the moment he opened the backseat door he was commanding the driver to ‘drive, now.’

Of course it had been an alpha, wanting to take advantage of him all over again. Sam would never make the mistake of being distracted. He had been an absolute idiot lately. Work. Work was most important and without the blockers there would be no work so he needed to refocus himself.

A thought of Dean came to him and he felt his stomach lurch uncomfortably before pushing the thought far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, neither chapters posted today were lovey dovey Valentines Day shit but ‘eh’ you guys got a double update so I hope that makes up for the lack of togetherness for Sam and Dean.


	19. A Resolve

Castiel stood from his desk and grabbed his jacket. His shift was over and he had no intention on sticking around to see if Crowley would want him to stay longer. The loan shark had taken to getting in his personal space too often recently so any day he could escape being alone with his boss was a god sent. 

It oddly bothered him though, he hadn't seen Crowley at all the whole day. He wondered what he could be up to. Had Crowley been in meetings with clients he didn't trust Castiel to sit in on? But that didn't matter as much as this whole thing that had happened between his friends.

He was getting worried about Sam. He had never known the other beta to be particularly sensitive but now it had been three days since he had told Dean he would talk to Sam and he hadn't been able to get ahold of him.

Whenever Castiel called it would ring once or twice and then Sam would reject the call. He had texted him asking if he was alright and if it was okay to come over but Sam had either not read the messages or wasn't responding. He had been to Sam's apartment once before all this, Sam had made him wait in the entry way and that had been it. He didn't like people in his apartment so Cas really wanted to find out if his friend was okay without just showing up at his place and making him upset.

His phone buzzed just as he had made it to the parking lot. He stopped walking and dug in his pocket to retrieve his phone. 

SAM: No need to come over. I’ve been working hard on a case these last few days and didn't have enough time to chat. Please tell Dean I don't want to see him again. You’ll understand.

Castiel’s heart sunk. Something must have happened. Sam liked to think that Castiel didn't notice things but he did. Castiel knew that Sam was smarter than his employers thought, Sam liked hiding what he thought of people behind a friendly mask… he also knew that Sam was very lonely despite him constantly insisting that he was happy with where his life was.

It was just a text. He couldn't see or hear the other beta but he could read the tone  
of the wording. Sam wanted to close everyone out. 

Castiel bit his lip as he debated whether or not he should tell Dean and quickly decided this wasn't something he should hid from his friend just because he might drink himself loony again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short, but very important.  
> Big things are coming so look forward to more~


	20. How Can You Say That?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I missed updating last night! I literally fell asleep right before I pushed the post button.
> 
> Hopefully this chapter will make up for my blunder.
> 
> Enjoy~

“Where is he.” Dean growled. The woman from the hospital acted as if she hadn't heard the rumble of the alpha’s throat and Dean could hear the white noise of a busy waiting room in the background of the other line.

[In one of our rooms. He is concussed, sir. When you come down to see him the police will need to see some form of identification.] He was pacing his living room back and forth but paused at the mention of the police “Cops? Why the hell are the cops involved!?” 

[I'm not the one to ask, sir.] The woman on the phone drawled. Obviously she didn't give two fucks what the police were doing with Dean's father. He rubbed at his forehead in irritation “I'll, uh. See if I can head over today. Thank you. Bye.”

He promptly hung up and threw his head back, staring straight up at the roof. Did he really want to go see that bastard? Whatever this ‘big job’ John had been doing Dean highly doubted that his father had been paid if he was in the fucking hospital. Showing up would probably mean paying the hospital expenses and he had enough shit to pay for that was more important than his dumbass criminal father.

There was a knock at his door and with a groan Dean trudged grumpily to the door and opened it. He looked at Castiel’s dread filled face with one of irritation. “Can whatever bad news you got wait? Because I am so not in the mood, man.”

Cas was unfazed “no, Dean. It's about Sam.” That caught the alpha’s attention. The beta let himself in. His friend followed after him until they stood in the living room, facing each other. “What’d he say?”

“Well, he told me to tell you that he doesn't want to see you again… but, Dean. I wouldn't lose hope just yet. I think something else is going on with him. Maybe in a few days when he comes around I’ll talk to him and then-”

“Just tell me where he lives, I'll talk to him myself.” It was probably anger from his dad situation spilling over into his frustration and nerves with this whole Sam situation that was making him lash out and he was glad his best friend was used to this kind of aggressive reaction he had to some things.

“Dean, I can't just tell you where he lives. Especially when you're being like this.” Dean took a step forward and clasped Castiel shoulders “Please, Cas. I need to know what's up with him.” The beta looked at one of the hands on his shoulder and sighed exasperatedly “If you make things worse you have to promise me to leave him alone.”

Sam, Sam, Sam. It was all he could think of. Dean had to remind himself to calm down before he saw Sam. He wasn't here to scare him half to death but to talk. Really talk. He had never met anyone like Sam before and he would be damn if he couldn't talk to him even if it was for the last time.

The lawyer lived in a nicer part of town than he did and the apartment complex looked ten times cleaner than his. He made his way to apartment C13 on the third floor and gave the door a good few knocks. He listened for movement but didn't hear any. Had he gone out after work? Dean knew for a fact that on weekdays Sam got off work at five-thirty. It was seven-fourteen. Benny would probably put Dean on toilet duty for a week for not calling in and saying he wasn't coming into work but he really didn't care at the moment.

He knocked again, listened. There was the sound of feet shuffling over hardwood, up to the door. 

“Sammy? I just wanna talk.” He waited, and waited. For a moment he thought Sam had walked away but then a gravelly, tired voice said through the door “I don't want to talk, Dean. Just leave, okay?” 

“Why can't you be with me, Sammy? I'm just tryin’ to understand.” 

The door opened and in the crack Sam stood, glaring “Because, I hate alphas, okay? Now leave me a-” Dean pushed himself between the crack before Sam could close the door. Now he stood in front of the pissed off beta not really sure when his plan had involved forced entry. He would go with it though. He really had no other choice anyway.

Sam would probably hate him after this. Shit, he had gone and fucked this up, hadn’t he? This was why he didn’t get involved in the first place! No, he couldn’t give up on Sam just yet. He wanted to try and fix this if he could.

“Dean, what the hell!?” Sam gritted out Dean raised his hands in defense, hoping Sam wasn't going to punch him. “I just want to know what I did to piss you off so bad! Can't you give me that?” His anger from earlier was bubbling to the surfaces but he managed to keep it down for the most part.

“I don't have to give you anything. I could call the police on you right now. You know that, right?” Dean was taken back by the growl that rumbled out from Sam's lips. He had never heard of a beta growling, ever.

The alpha inside him stirred, he wanted growl back and get up in Sam's face until he surrendered but he forced himself not to. “I think I'm in love with you.” Dean blurted out. It wasn't graceful at all and the words felt awkward in his mouth but he had said it. He didn't know what he would do if he couldn't have Sam.

The beta froze, took a step back, and then seemed to start breathing again. He looked anguished by Dean's confession. “You don't even know me, Dean. How can you say that?” “I can say it because it's true. I don’t know- I just can’t help it. Let me get to know you better, Sammy.”

Sam looked away as a familiar heat settled behind his eyes. No, he didn't want to cry in front of Dean. This was already a bad situation. He had an alpha halfway into his living room for fucks sake, he should be calling the police- wait, no. Couldn't do that.

Dean's eyes widen when they landed on Sam's exposed neck and saw the hand shaped bruise there. It had faded from what had obviously been a dark red to a muddy brown and purple but it was still clear as day. He couldn't stop himself from his instincts this time.

The beta flinch when Dean grabbed hold of him and he tried to push him away “I said leave me alone!” Dean growled at Sam and the latter shut his mouth immediately. He turned Sam's head gently to the side to look at the bruising once more and a stronger growl broke out of him “Who did this to you? Huh?”

He had been too wrapped up in the idea of Sam being hurt that he hadn't even noticed the tears streaking down the beta’s face until he pulled away a little to look at him. Sam gave a smile that was more painful looking than the amusement he was going for “You really don't want to know the real me, Dean. I'm a mess.” Dean met Sam's eyes and couldn't help but pull him into a hug. A smirk fluttered onto his face though he doubted Sam could see it “I’m pretty messy myself. You can't be tha-” and that's when Dean scented the fear coming from Sam’s neck. It was so faint- drowning in the smell of beta. Sam’s scent gland.

Which wouldn't make sense. Sam was a beta, not an… oh.

A shiver ran down Dean's spine and he pulled away to look Sam over in utter shock “You're… Omega?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun DUN! 
> 
> How will this revelation change things?
> 
> We shall see... this chapter was going to be titled “Forced Entry” But, uh... kinda sounded rape-ish so I went with the current title of “How Can You Say That?” Which, of course, is refurring to Dean’s confession.
> 
> Lots of things have happened in this chapter and I’d love to hear what you think about them~!
> 
> Also, yes. More cliffhangers.


	21. The Problem With Omegas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ so... more trigger-ish warnings here. Make sure to really read those tags on this story. I don’t like saying exactly what is going to happen in the chapters because it kinda spoils things in my opinion so just make sure to read them tags so you know what may be coming.
> 
> Anywho, Enjoy~

It was definitely a new experience for Sam to be sitting on his couch with someone else. He had always been afraid that even a beta like Cas would be able to figure out his secret somehow so Sam had kept it on the safe side and never let anyone inside. That is… until now.

Dean was looking around the nearly empty living room unsure what to do with himself. John had made him promise when he had first popped his knot that he wouldn't hook up with an omega, that if he did he would get tricked into becoming their mate and he would get stuck with them for the rest of his life. Dean had stopped believing that load of crap by the time he got around to having a sex life but just to be safe, betas were his go to. It was easier to drop them like it's hot if they were betas in his opinion. They were… easy.

Dean was not sure how to handle an omega. Especially one like Sam who had been hiding his real self for god knew how long. Sam had never acted like any of the omegas Dean had met. He had never even met a fucking male omega. Shit. He had no idea how to act now.

Sam was looking straight ahead at the blank white wall trying to figure out what to do when Dean cleared his throat.

“Not much of a decorator, huh?” He gestured to the enterally empty room save for the couch and plain black rug under it. Everything was pristine as if the entire apartment was brand new. Sam took a moment to look around as if for the first time “Never had the time for that kind of stuff.”

“How long have you lived here?” Again, Sam took a moment, this time to think and then gave a nod when he had remembered “Three years.” That was… odd. Dean felt like that meant something was wrong but couldn't think of what it was. He was just staring at the blankness of it all. “Right…”

The silence returned for a moment longer, this time broken by Sam. “I've never… no one has ever figured me out. I'm not really sure what to do now, honestly.”

The alpha turned to face him, they had beaten around the bush, now it was time to be straightforward. “What do you want to do, Sam?” Sam gave him a overwhelmed sigh and brushed his hair away from his eyes. “I just told you, I don't know.”

“Okay… you, uh, wanna talk about it? Why you're pretending to be a beta?” That’s what Dean really wanted to know. Why would someone like Sam go through the trouble of illegally masking his scent? They have those heat blockers in the stores, didn't they?

Sam seemed to fight with himself internally for a long minute, then, slowly he opened up. Something that felt awful and exhilarating at the same time. And Dean was looking at him with such honest care, it was hard not to tell him about the crapshoot which was his life. He was long overdue for a good vent.

“My mom is an omega, obviously, and um, she left her Alpha when she got pregnant with me. I don't know all the details, I don't even know if that alpha was my father or not. She bonded with my alpha step father when I was eighteen but he- Ketch, had been around since I was fourteen.”

Sam paused for a moment, trying to decide if he should include some things in his explanation. Dean saw Sam's hesitation and spoke in a soft voice “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.” But of course, that only drove Sam on to continue. Dean was the first to know these things about him.

“Ketch got really aggressive when I first presented as a… an omega when I was sixteen. He wanted me to submit to him so when he married my mom I had gone away to Stanford University to get away from him. I would have stayed if I knew he was going to move on from verbally abusing my mother to physically and psychologically abusing her.”

“Jesus, Sammy…” Dean's scent was full of anger but comforting pheromones were mixed in creating an odd scent Sam couldn’t quite pick up completely with his senses blocked.

“So I studied law with the idea of becoming an omega lawyer so I could save my mom from her abusive husband. I got a job at a law firm in California right out of college. But they gave me a secretary position because I was an omega. They would deny it whenever I asked about being promoted to a lawyer position as they promised would happen. Then, a group of the young alphas I worked with decided they'd scare me with a ‘prank’ as they called it and cornered me in the bathroom…” a brief pause. The memory of that incident always made Sam feel sick to his stomach. “They ripped my pants and underwear off… and...” he took a shaky breath in “And they molested me.”

A growl rumbled in the alpha's chest. A want- no. A need to find and beat the shit out of those alphas was overwhelming. If Sam wasn't clutching his arms close to himself in a subtle protective position, Dean would have pulled him into another hug and this time he would never let go. 

“I, of course, reported them and threatened to sue but have you ever tried to sue a law firm? Yeah, it was easy for them to shove it under the table, saying that it was my fault for only using heat blocker and not scentblocker. Some stupid excuse that I had wanted it even if I didn't know it.”

Sam gave a huff of a humorless laugh and shrugged “I ended up settling for twenty-thousand. I just wanted it to be over. Nobody believed me anyway. I was fired and those alphas got a slap on the wrists. For a month I just sat in my apartment and replayed the whole thing, trying to figure out what I had done wrong, why it was my fault-”

“It wasn't.” Dean announced with strong conviction. “I know that, I realize I didn't ask to be an omega-” “No, Sammy. There's nothing wrong with being an omega.” Dean's chest was aching painfully at the incredulity in Sam's expression. “Really? Because I see a whole lot wrong with it. I want to be a lawyer. But you know what society wants me to be? A cashier making minimum wage with four kids and a mate. After all, what are omegas good for? Good for nothing but-”

“How can you talk like that, Sam?! Don't even think about finishing that sentence, you hear me?” Dean took a deep breath and reached for Sam’s hand. The omega flinched away but gave Dean his hand when he gestured for him to. He squeezed Sam’s hand reassuringly and started absentmindedly message each finger as he spoke. He cringed when he noticed the bandages wrapped around his right hand from knuckles and ended at his elbow. He wondered if that had been done by the same fucker who had choked Sam.

“Look, I know where you're coming from with all this self hate mumbo-jumbo. But that stuff that happened to you… you can't let others tell you what you should be. You're you and if others can't see how awesome and smart you are just because you happen to be an omega, then fuck them. They have no idea what they're missin’ out on.”

It was as if, all Sam’s adult life he had been waiting for someone to say those exact words to him. A weight that had accumulated over the years in his back suddenly felt a little lighter. Dean wasn't a cure all. They had pointed him away from those thoughts of hatred of his kind but that hate still existed. Did he even want to stop hating omegas? It made it so much easier in his opinion to just blame all his problems on that part of himself.

Sam pulled his hand from Dean’s reluctantly and sighed “I can't just show up to work as an omega all of the sudden. I'd get called on for being a concealed Omega, lose my job, and go to jail.” He rested his head back into the leather couch for a long second then looked over at the alpha, seemingly at a loss for what to do about that. “I… I'm having a hard time with this but I do like you, Dean. You're definitely the least doche-y alpha I've ever met,” they both smiled at that “But I just can't be with you as an omega, Dean.”

There was the scent of bitterness in the air and Dean gave Sam a sad grin “All I want is you, Sammy. I wanted you even before you were suddenly an omega.” How could Dean be real? Why had it taken this long for Sam to find him? Dean didn't say a word as Sam pulled him to his chest for a much needed hug. He quietly held the omega. It felt so safe and calm to be with Dean like this. 

“And who knows, things may change in the future. They have in the past. Who says omegas can't be lawyers?”

“You sure you want to wait that long? That could take years- maybe even decades, Dean.” “I’m gonna stay with you Sammy. I've already decided.”

Sam’s face split into a smile. “You sure are cheesy.”

“You sure are rude to someone who practically handed you his freakin’ life.”

“You sure are a drama queen for an alpha.”

They shared bright grins before busting up laughing. The tension melting away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean really isn’t like most alpha just as Sam isn’t like most omegas. That could either work in their favors or against them. It’s only a matter of time before the answer to that becomes evident.


	22. Changin’ Shifts

The hospital had checked John Winchester out a week after he was found lying bloody in an alley. There was a nasty looking bruise across the bridge of his nose and his lip was busted- a rib was bruised but the doctor had been satisfied with the recovery of his concussion. He was under strict orders to take it easy.

Dean hadn't been bothered enough to go see his father. Sam had taken first priority in his life. He didn't believe that something like that therapy crapolla was going to fix the omega’s unbelievably strong hate for what he was. Sam couldn't go to any type of doctor like he was anyways. So Dean was making it his mission to help Sam see the good in what he was.

Scrubbing away at the tables in the bar, Dean got Benny’s attention. Elizabeth was restocking the liquor shelves while her dad was counting the money in the register. Making sure they would have enough change for later on. No customers were in at the moment so Dean thought it best to ask now.

“I wanna start workin’ earlier, Benny.” The other alpha didn't look away from the money and called back “I thought you was all about the late nights. Any earlier than you're workin now would be food service. Not any real bar action during the day, brother.”

Dean believed himself to be a peoples person in some ways, he thought he'd be able to take food orders just fine. “That's fine with me.” Benny finished counting the money and looked over to where Dean was wiping down the tables with a calculating eye. “This sudden schedule change wouldn't have to do with the fine dressin’ beta you've been goin googoo eyed on for the last month and a half, would it?”

“Haha, I'm sure you think you're real funny.” Dean said flatly as he turned to his boss “I was just thinkin it would be nice… if we got off work at similar times so we could spend more time together. It's not a big deal.” He was trying to play it off just how much of a big deal it actually was but was failing pretty hard. Benny's looked him over with a wide, knowing smile before turning back to the register to close it up.

“Shifts already set in stone for this week. I'll see what I can do for ya next week, brother.” “Thanks Benny, you're the best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, kinda one of those in between little bits but completely necessary.
> 
> Hope you look forward to more~


	23. May Cause...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hello~ yet another chapter is here for you to enjoy
> 
> Also, yay! Finished writing the other Supernatural story I was working on “What Lies Under The Surface” It’s pre different from this one but you should check it out! I put up the first chapter right before updating this story.
> 
> Anywho, hope you enjoy the cloud of fluffy bliss that has descended on this story for the time being.

It alway was Sam's place. Sure it was bare of everything but a properly functioning kitchen and a couch but the lack of scent made it a more neutral environment for the two of them to meet up. 

They were… very slowly getting into the whole relationship bit of what they had. What with Dean deciding to teach Sam that being an omega isn't so bad. How he planned on doing that, Sam had no idea. There had been hugging and the alpha liked to rub Sam's hands if he let him. He must have really been holding himself back. If high school biology had served to teach Sam anything, it was that alphas were extremely protective of their omegas, bonded or not. Dean hadn't showed any want to scent Sam but that had to be him blocking out his instincts for Sam's comfort.

It was a kind gesture, one which the omega appreciated… but he also felt bad about putting Dean in a position where he had to constantly keep himself from doing what his instincts told him to do.

There was a knock on Sam's front door. He closed his laptop and left it on the counter in the kitchen as he went to go get the door. He always checked the spy hole to make sure it was Dean before opening the door. Sam hadn't told Dean about his run in with the alpha who wanted to sell him and Dean seemed okay with that for now. He never wanted to push Sam too hard into opening up. But that didn't stop Sam from thinking about that man. Who might still be looking for him.

Dean stood in the doorway, his arm resting on the frame of the entryway with a handful of shopping bags. Sam looked at the bags then at Dean with a not entirely sure look of surprise. “You went shopping.” “Yep.” Was the alpha’s only response before pushing past Sam and into the apartment. That was one thing Dean at least didn't stop himself from doing. 

“Make yourself at home.” He mumbled sarcastically as he closed the door after the alpha. Dean had sat his five or so bags on the hardwood floors of living room and was digging in one when Sam trailed in after him. His arm crossed disapproving of the mess of bags on his floor. “Did you have to bring all your bags along with you? Couldn't you have dropped them off at your place before you came over?”

“This stuff is for you, Sammy. Because you refuse to do it yourself, I bought some house decorations, like…” he pulled out a picture frame showing it to an unimpressed omega then pulled out the next item “Or this…” he held up a vase with a pack of flower seed and a bag of mulch shoved inside it. That made Sam roll his eyes which meant to Dean that he liked it.

“Also got you some art prints, ceramic cat figurines, and more picture frames.”

“Cat figurines? Really?” Sam raised his eyebrow and the other shrugged “You said you liked cats the other day.” “Yeah, when I was ten. You can keep those- better yet, take this stuff to the store you got it from and get back your money.”

“Nope. You are gonna stop treating this apartment as if you were some squatter and make this your home.” When Sam didn't move or say anything Dean sighed “Look, just come chose at least five things you like and then whatever you don't want, I'll take back, okay?”

And Sam did find some things he liked. A couple of picture frames, one of the art prints of redwoods, and the vase with the flower seeds. They had argued for a good ten minutes if the vase counted as two items because of the mulch but Dean eventually won and so Sam picked out another picture frame.

“Where's your bathroom?” The alpha asked after he was satisfied with Sam's decoration choices. “On the other side of the kitchen. First door in the hallway.” Sam directed half paying attention as he carefully poured the mulch into the vase, trying his best not to make a mess. “Got it.” By the sound of frustration Sam made after Dean had turned away, he assumed the Omega had missed the vase a little.

With a good section of the vase filled, Sam sat the bag to the side and looked around the room. Where was he even going to put the plant? There wasn't much geographical markers to go by besides the couch so he decided to put it in the middle of the wall the couch was facing. But where would he put the painting? In the middle above the flower? The room was the biggest in the apartment, putting everything in the middle would only make it feel more empty. Dean sure was taking a while in the bathroom…

San’s head snapped up to where Dean was slowly making his way back. In his hand he held some of Sam's medication. “I’m not going to force you to stop takin’ these, Sam. But these are hella bad for you. Have you read the side effects?”

“What the heck, Dean!? You can't just go through my stuff-” Dean held up a finger to shush Sam as he started to read the backs of the bottles “Emergency heat blocker. May cause dizziness, vomiting, auditory and or visual hallucinations, and loss of fertility” Sam tried to interject but Dean went on “Scent blocker. May cause inflammation in scent gland, depression, cancer, and dissociative identity disorder. And then someone went and put a winky face after that.” 

“Are you finished?” Dean stared at him with wide, unbelieving eyes. The scent of Sam's anger far less potent than Dean’s “I don't know. Should I keep reading? You don't look convinced that this stuff is bad for you.” 

“I know it's not good for me. But as we discussed before. Not much I can do about it unless I want to got to jail.” There was a long silence and Dean sat down the medication on the counter. “Yeah, I know... I just want you to be okay, ya know?”

Sam surprised them both when he suddenly reached out and pulled Dean to himself. The alpha was over the initial shock after a mere second and hugged Sam back.

The warmth of Dean was soothing. It made him want to sleep. The alpha’s scent of fresh pie and asphalt reminded Sam of home. Before Ketch, when his mom had still cared. 

Dean had his head propped up on Sam's shoulder when his body suddenly demanded him to scent the omega. Let everyone know that he was Dean’s but he only dared to let himself lean in to smell Sam's scent from the source.

The omega froze when Dean sniffed at his scent gland. It was covered in layer after layer of blocker but Sam doubted at such close proximity that the alpha couldn't smell him even a little. 

Sam’s scent was barely there under all the beta smell. Dean couldn't quite make it out but it sent a tingle through his bones. Whatever it was, it was heavenly. He forced himself to pull away from it but not before planting a quick kiss to the skin above the gland. Knowing full well that putting his lips to that section of Sam's neck would make it impossible to hold himself back.

They pulled away slowly, reluctant but knowing they couldn't go on. Dean looked around, unsure of what to do with himself. “It's getting pretty late, Dean.” “Right… Right! I gotta go home and um, do stuff. So I'll get out of your hair.”

Dean gathered up the bags of things Sam hadn't liked and started towards the door. “I wanna see everything set up next time I come over, Sammy.” Sam rolled his eyes and hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt. “Whatever you say, Dean


	24. Cooled Coffee

“I… I'm sorry I didn't visit you when you were in the hospital. A lot of shit was happening at once and…” Dean sighed tiredly when John only took another gulp of his coffee. “I got the report. They said the mugger didn't take anything from the truck.” He tried but his father looked less than excited about it.

Finally, the older alpha spoke. “You couldn't even take an hour from your schedule to see me. I'm family, Dean. I thought I at least taught you that family takes priority over everything else.” Sam was feeling more like family than John these days but he wouldn't bring his omega boyfriend to his father’s attention. 

“C’mon. Don't kid yourself. We both know you weren't in the hospital because you got mugged.” That made John crack a smile, careful not to reopen the cut on his lip. “Calling my bluff or do you just still believe no one can pull a fast one on me?”

“A little of both. It was the big score wasn't it?” John cleared his throat and looked out at the green grass of the park from the bench they sat on. “Remind me to never do dirty jobs for guys with names like Dick. I had some… trouble. But trust me, I didn't let the other guy go without getting a few good marks in, myself.”

They watched as the wind blew at a nearby tree and a few yellowing leaves fell to the grass. Fall was on its way. “So, you taking off now that the job’s a bust?” “Yeah, I heard from a contact of mine that the pickin’ in Florida have been good so I might see how I do there.”

Dean took a gulp of his own coffee and grimaced when he realized too late that it had cooled. Then he stood “Well, don't get into too much trouble down there. You're stay out of jail cards are running low and you probably won't be pickin up anymore.” “Words of wisdom from my halfcocked alpha son. I'll keep that in mind, Dean.” John was brushing off his son’s warning but it didn't bother Dean. Hell, if anything, Dean had gotten his stubbornness from his father.

“You take care of yourself.” With that, Dean left the park but not before throwing the rest of his coffee in the trash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean is oblivious to what his father has done... oh, if he only knew.
> 
> Anyways! Next chapter shall see the reappearance of Castiel, so look forward to that~


	25. When Passion meets “Passion”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I am sorry for yet another missed update. Got my days confused and thought I wasn’t supposed to update until this night. Sorry again for that. Here is the overdue chapter!

One of the many new tasks Castiel was subject to under the new contract he had signed was taking Crowley’s suits to and from the dry cleaners, walking his boss’ hound every day (she hated him and he was pretty sure he hated her just as much). Castiel was just glad his boss already had a maid and a gardener to take care of the rest or he was sure Crowley would have him cleaning his whole house.

He was overworked. The beta spent more time at Crowley’s ridiculously oversized house than at his own apartment. Four hours of sleep didn't look good on him. His hair was uncombed and he had forgotten his jacket. Then there was the red, exhausted eyes to answer for. Kevin, who had only been working in bookkeeping for a month and a half, had asked him if he was high.

There. That was the last straw. Castiel made his way to his boss' office. He didn't have the slightest idea what he intended to tell him, but he had to do something.

Crowley was on the phone when Castiel threw the office door open. He looked the beta over, leisurely holding his finger up. He could practically hear the alpha say to him ‘I'll deal with you in a second’ but Castiel was done playing along with Crowley’s games. He walked straight up to his desk and pushed down the receiver button on the phone base. 

The alpha stared up at the brave beta and sat the phone down. “Do you have any idea who've you just hung up on?” His voice was calm but the threat in it was obvious. 

“You know what, I don't really care who it was. I came to tell you I quit. I'm done being your servant.”

“We’re in a legally binding deal, you can't just leave.” The alpha growled and stood. Castiel was prepared and didn't back down. If his boss was going to try and scare him, he wouldn't be able to. The beta wasn't scared.

“So call your lawyer, Crowley. Attack me with papers all you want, I'm not scared of you.”

All he could remember of what happened next was that, he was so exhausted. They had be glaring across the desk at each other and then the next thing he knew, they were making out. In the heat of the moment, passions had been confused or something and they both had lunged hungerly at each other. Their lips smashed together feverishly.

Things were thrown off the oak table in the heat of the battle and the alpha had dragged him up into his desk just as he managed to shove his tongue into Castiel's mouth. The beta turned his head away for air only to have teeth dig into his neck. A silent scream escaped his mouth but his clouded mind was forced to move on from the bite and focus on the mouth sucking at his neck and the hand grabbing hold of him through his pants.

“Crowley…” he moaned and the alpha growled above him “You will never leave me. You're mine!” And that was when he was dragged off the desk and thrown roughly to the floor behind his boss's desk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angry sex! (Or at least the beginning of it) 
> 
> Oh, Castiel might’ve just dug the hole he is in a little deeper.


	26. Little Dean

Sam almost dropped his drink when Dean told him.

“No.”

Dean didn't look happy one bit.

“It happened.”

“Cas and… Crowley?” Sam sounded incredulous and Dean groaned, plopping down onto Sam's couch beside the omega. “Mr. Dickface even had the nerve to mark him!” The alpha looked over to his boyfriend who was still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing. “I can kill him, right?”

Sam sighed tiredly “No, Dean. You can't kill my client. He contributes a good thirty percent of my paycheck. Trust me. I'd let you if that wasn't the case.” “And it's actually starting to look like someone lives here. Wouldn't want little Sammy to be kicked out of his place because he's poor like me.” Sam rolled his eyes but couldn't stop himself from smiling around his cup.

“So, how is Cas handling this whole thing?” Dean shook his head “He says he's not sure how he feels at the moment. He's crashin’ on my couch for a few days. Crowley gave him a couple of days off.” “Well, that's sure generous of him.” Sam couldn't resist drawing out the sarcasm in his words but Dean didn't look amused, if anything, he looked like he was going to be sick to his stomach. “Can we please change the subject? Thinking about those two…” he made a lewd hand gesture “Grosses me out.”

“Okay. When do I get to hear the Dean Winchester story? You already heard the Sam Campbell story.”

Dean gave Sam a surprised look “Your last name ‘s Campbell?” “Uh, yeah? Did you not even know my last name?” The alpha could have sworn that he had heard that last name before. His mind had jolted at the mention of it but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. Sam gave Dean an unsure glance “Stop changing the subject, I want to hear about little Dean.”

It took Dean a moment to recollect himself. He opened his arms “I might need some Sammy hugs to get me through it all.” He teased. Sam hesitated, a creeping fear making hairs stand on end at the base of his neck. He was slowly but surely making himself not scared of touching Dean over the weeks and so he pushed himself to lean into Dean's arms. The result was a stiff side hug-ish thing.

The alpha could feel Sam's heart raising against his side and hummed in an effort to calm the other down. When he felt the omega relax a bit Dean started his tale.

“Well, I think I've told you before that I'm from Lawrence,” “You have.” “Okay, so… we were one happy family living in this little cottage-like house some place where there weren't so many houses. It was me- of course- uh, my dad was an alpha and my mom an omega. I was really little so I can't remember it all too well anymore, but my mom was the greatest and my dad wasn't so bad either.”

Dean cleared his throat and Sam looked up at him from where his head was rested on his shoulder with sympathetical eyes. Guess Dean’s pain was more obvious than he wanted it to be.

“Dad got into some kind of fight with mom. I can remember hearing them yelling downstairs from my bed. And then, just like that… mom left. She uh, didn't even bother to take me with her.” Sam could hear the emotion in Dean's voice and placed a quick, encouraging kiss to the alpha’s exposed collarbone. The moment he pulled away he felt a sudden bolt of fear. His omega instincts were reacting to the alpha’s pain. It was kinda terrifying that he couldn’t control it around Dean. The alpha decided to ignore the slip up on Sam’s behalf. Acknowledging it would make Sam think he messed up. But damn, Dean loved the way the mere touch of Sam’s lips set his skin on fire.

“Anyway, John Winchester had never won a father of the year award but he had been there when mom had been there. But once she left it became pretty obvious he wasn't very good with kids. He sold our house and just drove us around. We’d sleep in motels and he would drink and gamble…” he seemed to get stuck on the next words, he knew his dad had been full of shit but he could still hear his warning to not burden others with his problems was echoing in his head.

“He… sometimes, when he was pissed off… he’d hit me. Nothing too bad. Kick me out of his way or squeeze my arm until I told him where I hid his wallet.”

“Don't say it wasn't too bad, Dean.” Sam demanded, Dean patted his back to show he acknowledged him before going on.

“Well, we ran out of money pretty fast and started sleeping in the car. See, back before my dad was with my mom and had a job and all that good stuff, he was a con man. So, he started doing that to buy us food and stuff. When I was fourteen I popped my knot and he started teaching me the art of conning and stealing.”

“No offense, but I don't like your dad.” That made Dean laugh. “I saw it as an Indiana Jones sort of job when I was younger. Course, then my dad had took off when I tripped an alarm for a house I was robbing. I was sixteen so I spent thirty days in juvy. I told them about our lifestyle and so they gave me two choices; I'd stay in juvy until I turned eighteen or if I agreed to go to therapy they'd set me up in a foster family. So that happened. 

“I don't even really remember my foster parents’ names. When I turned eighteen I was out of there. I did a lot of stupid shit, losing my virginity-” he paused, looked at Sam and continued more cautiously “Was… good, but I can't even remember what she looks like- beta. I've never, uh, with an omega…

“Uh… yeah, I got really into drinking and tried stealing shit but it didn't give me a good feeling anymore. Then I showed up here, hoping to find my mom but someone’s erased her from existence or something. I found Cas though, and that was good- did you know he was a hobo when I first met him? Anyways, yeah. Got a job at a bar- still an alcoholic if Cas’ got any say in what a healthy amount of alcohol is. My dad comes by once a month, still an insensitive asshole conman but he's at least trying to be in my life so that's something.”

“Hm.” Dean looked down incredulously at the mop of brown hair on his shoulder “Really? I just spilled my whole life story to you and all you have to say is ‘Hm’?” “I'm still absorbing it all. What do you want me to say, Dean? ‘Wow, your dad ‘s a dick’ is that what you want me to say?” The alpha thought about it for a second and when he next spoke it was a dumb “Well, yeah… no? I don't know what I wanted you to say.”

Sam propped himself up so he could look Dean in the eye “it's… nice to know you aren't actually perfect.” “You thought I was perfect?” Dean almost laughed. That had to be the furthest thing from the truth. Sam gave him that smile that always appeared in times of mischief. Dean thought that smile was hot as hell- probably one of his favorite Sam expressions “Well I did- kinda pushy though- But now I know you're an ex convict with a bottle control problem.”

“And you're a crooked lawyer who buys illegal drugs and lives a very sad and lonely life.”

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

The alpha instantly wanted to retract his words. What was he thinking? Sam was still so sensitive! But to Dean's surprise Sam cracked a grin that broke away to a small snicker. He was radiating a certain pureness. Sam’s smile glowing, his laugh sending Dean’s heart beating just a little faster. If anyone was perfect, it was Sam. If the love inflating Dean’s heart didn’t stop growing for this man beside him, his heart was gonna burst. He just knew it.


	27. A Late Night Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ here is a new chapter! Whoohoo! Enjoy~

Sam was on his way to his Mom's house in a panic.

He had gotten a call at two in the morning and had barely woken up in time to catch it. Surprise and unease had made a home in his mind when he saw Mary’s name on his screen. He quickly answered, pushing the sleep from his voice.

She had been babbling hysterically and Sam couldn’t make any sense of it. What he could make of it was that Ketch and her had gotten into another fight and she really needed Sam to get her out of there.

The cab pulled up to the house and Sam's gut clenched when police cars and an ambulance were crowded in across the driveway and up on the lawn. Nosy neighbors stood across the road on their lawns in bath robes. Sam had managed to throw his suit jacket over his messy white sleep shirt and his skin prickled in fear of how little scentblocker he had managed to cover his scent withal a. In the cab ride over he had been rubbing the beta smell into his neck. If the cab driver noticed, he hadn't said anything. Mary was seated on the porch with a shock blanket wrapped around her and an intimidating alpha cop standing over her, asking questions. When she saw her son hurrying towards her, she lifted her head with the most relieved and grateful look in her eyes that Sam hadn't seen in a long time. 

The police stopped him at the yellow tape and Sam automatically spat out “I'm her son.” They hesitated and Sam thought he was going to explode because of their slowness but then his mom was calling out “It's okay, I called him.” She sounded utterly exhausted.

When he was finally allowed to go into the yard, Sam harried to where she sat on the porch and pulled her into a tight hug. “Are you alright? I could barely hear anything you said on the phone. What happened?” 

“Sam… Ketch, he was angry and I didn't know what else to do! I-I stabbed him!” And then she seemed to become nothing but a puddle of tears. He had never seen his mom like this. He had always known her to become closed off and indifferent when her mate abused her. Sam had a horrible sinking feeling that his mom had cracked for good.

“You're her son, right?” The intimidating alpha cop asked in a gruff, drawl. His strawberry blond mustache concealing his upper lip completely and his heavy weight lower on his belt gave Sam the clear image of a pear. He would have found the imagery funny if the officer didn't seem so smug about everything.

“We already got her statement. Her mate’s on his way to the hospital but it ain't nothin’ but a flesh wound.” He looked down at Mary with something attune to pity in his eyes. It was the scent of her fear and anguish that was making, what Sam had assumed was, a hardass cop, melt like butter. The officer seemed to realize he was sounding too soft and quickly added “We’ll still be investigating any other possible motives so don't leave town.”

When the cop had turned away, Sam helped his mother to stand. She was still shaking as he led her back to his waiting cab. Neither of them said anything on the cab ride to Sam's apartment. The cab driver kept on looking at Mary in his rearview mirror. Curiosity was a disgusting thing sometimes.

Sam flipped through his key ring, finally finding his front door key and pulled the door open for his mother. It was such a weird experience, for them both Sam assumed, that she was here. In the three years that Same had lived here, back in Lawrence, his mother had never visited.

The moment the door was closed, Mary stopped shaking and the scent of fear disappeared. She stood at the edge of her son’s living room like a stone cold statue. This side of Mary, was one that Sam knew a lot better than the hysterical, weeping one.

“I want to testify against him now, Sam.” Her voice was strong and determined and it threw Sam for a loop. Hadn't she just been so distressed over stabbing Ketch? Seeing her son’s eyebrows raise in confusion she explained as she took a seat on the couch.

“I should've listened to you years ago, but I was in too deep to see the problems. Ketch… had his moments of sweetness. I just chose to ignore all the rest.” She sighed and rubbed her palms into her eyes. Sam wanted to sit beside her and hug her, but he doubted she would want to be comforted. 

“Tonight. He came home from a two week business trip in England. He told me he had mated and bonded with another omega when he was there, like it was the most normal thing in the world to tell your wife. He said he wanted to bring her to our house… he thought I would just be okay with all of it.”

She looked at the hardly furnished room as if noticing her surroundings for the first time. “Sam, I'm going to be honest with you. You're really awful at decorating. I mean, this?” She looked around the room with wide eyes like she was insulted by the random placement of picture frames and the art print.

“My… friend, forced me to decorate. Said that the emptiness was depressing him.” That caused Sam to smile, but he quickly pushed it away and frowned in concentration. “So, you stabbed Ketch because he wanted his new mate to move in with you?” “No, well, that may have also been on my mind but I stabbed him because I told him I wanted a divorce and he got angry and tried to strangle me… the knives were right there in the chopping block so I just…” she demonstrated the action of stabbing from a raised arm position downward and Sam cringed. Wondering if the cop had been right about it being ‘just a flesh wound’.

Sam nodded after a long moment of collecting all his thoughts. “Okay, this is good for your case. One thing that Arthur Ketch has apparently never learned about America is though it is legal to mate outside of your bond, it is actually illegal to mark a second mate unlike in England, Kansas and Mississippi are really adamant against one alpha having multiple Omegas because there are so few in their states. And then I still have documentation of everything injury he’s caused you since I've been back-” 

Catching himself rambling, the younger omega promptly shut himself up. His mother looked tired- exhausted, really. “All I'm saying is that… I'm really glad you decided to do this. I hated seeing you miserable.” Mary sighed and looked once again around the room.

“And I hate this pretending to be a beta thing- I get it. I do- and I don't expect you to give up your job just because this makes me feel…” she grasped for the right word “Uncomfortable. It's just… I can't believe you live like this.” 

There was the briefest moment in which Sam considered mentioning the alpha that had been changing his life recently but thought better of it. Avoiding the subject of alphas would be best for the time being. 

“You can use my bed if you w-” “No. I couldn't.” Mary interjected and then added because she didn't know if her not omega but omega son knew “it's not my nest.” Sam had to search his mind for a second to remember back to his high school biology class, the first and only time he had heard that term. “Right. Forgot about that. I'll um, get you some blankets.”

Before Sam left, his mom called after him. “Sam, thank you.” And that made a warmth spread in Sam's chest.


	28. Somethin’ Special

Dean wasn't in the best mood. Cas had taken an hour long shower that morning, leaving the alpha no hot water. He loved his friend like a brother but he was getting tired of the beta sulking on his couch. Today was particularly worse. Dean assumed it was because it was the last day off work Crowley had given Castiel. The beta was even more sluggish than the six days prior.

They sat across the table from each other. Dean was shoveling bacon and eggs into his face while Cas chose to pick at a bowl of Captain Crunch. Not being very good at dealing with stuff like relationships, Dean came up with nothing helpful for his friend for several, long, minutes. 

“How's the, uh, thing?” Dean finally started and pointed to his neck. The beta paused in his pickings at cereal and felt the bandage on the side of his neck. “It's… healing. Thankfully, it's stopped hurting. In the heat of the moment it seemed like a good idea- everything he did seemed like a good idea until I found myself trying to find all my clothes.”

The alpha nodded and took another bite of his breakfast “Eh, yeah. So… when are you planning to, you know… reject the bond?” That's when Castiel looked up to his friend. His face was blank as if what Dean had said was registering in a foreign language. “I haven't thought about it.”

That threw Dean for a loop. “Wait, you aren't seriously considering keeping it, are you?” The very idea of his best friend being bonded to the sadistic dick said friend always complained about made his skin crawl. Castiel shrugged and went back to spooning in cereal. “Who knows, it might give me leverage over Crowley.”

Dean stood. His plate wasn't empty but he had lost his appetite and he wanted to go see Sam before they both started work. Funny thing, his after work visits were not satisfying him anymore, he found himself wanting to be with the omega all the time. But one thing he had learned, the more time he spent with Sam, the harder it was to hold himself back. 

“I dunno, man. Bonds are supposed to be somethin’ special. One of those things you don't just do. It's supposed to last forever.” Cas grinned “And how are things going with Sam?” The alpha narrowed his eyes at the beta but a smile took over his face “Funny. Things are goin’... good. We're takin’ things slow.”

“I'm impressed. You usually start from last base.” Dean wasn't entirely sure what that meant but nodded nonetheless as he slipped on his jacket. “Whatever you say, compadre. I'm goin over to Sam's before work and probably after too so don't wait up.” Cas simply gave him a little wave of his hand and that was good enough for Dean.


	29. Fresh Muffins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey-o! So, there is stuff in this chapter. You have been warned

Sam had slept in later than he had intended but staying up until sometime around three in the morning had wiped him out. When he did wake up, his first thought was of his mom, he needed to get up and make sure everything was okay. Haphazardly, he made his way out of his room and down the hall.

The smell of fresh, sweet bread invaded his nose and he turned into the kitchen to find his mom bent over his stove, pulling out a tray of fresh baked muffins with oven mitts. The image reminded him so much of home. That, and he realizes her scent was everywhere. He hadn't taken any medication today and he could feel his own scent permeating the air.

Mary looked up at him when she was hit with a strong wave panic. “What's wrong, Sam?” She felt the need to comfort him, his scent smelling of family, like her baby, but then her baby was calming himself down until he was in control again. 

“Sorry, it's just I haven't taken any blocker yet so the scent everywhere- my scent… I’m not use to it.” He bit his lip for a moment then looked to the blueberry muffins in surprise “How did you even manage to make these?” 

The older omega rolled her eyes “I know, you don't own flour or sugar and your fridge is filled with lettuce and yogurt. I understand wanting to stay healthy, but c’mon Sam. A muffin or a burger isn't going to kill you every once in awhile.” It was funny how much she had reminded him of Dean for a second. “So, I walked a few blocks to the store and bought the things I needed and came back.”

The very notion that his mother had walked to the store and back horrified Sam. Thoughts of the man, who had tried to sell him, roaming the streets still. And his mother wasn't wearing any blocker. She was completely exposed. 

“Sam. Like it or not, I'm a bonded omega. Predators prowling the streets are looking for unbound, young omegas. Now, stop being such a worry wart and have a muffin. Do you mind if I take a shower or-”

“No, no. Go right ahead.” Sam stammered a bit as his mom handed him a muffin and gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder in passing. He waited until he heard the sound of the water turn on before going to the living room and watering the yet to sprout flower and took a bite of the muffin… that's when he heard a knock on the door. 

Fear seized him again, but only for a short moment, until he heard Dean on the other side of the door. “Sammy?” What a clingy dork, showing up in the morning before work? Sam hated the fact that that made his heart warm. He was getting in way too deep with this alpha.

Sam sat his muffin down on the counter and went back to the door. The alpha was still knocking and Sam had to remind himself that opening the door was a bad idea. “Dean, stop it.” The knocking stopped and then a voice was against the door “Ya gonna let me in?” Very tempting. His omega, which usually didn't have this much control was begging to let his alpha in. Wait, since when had he started seeing Dean as his alpha?

“It's not really the best time, Dean.” Even to himself he sounded reluctant, his hand was coming up to the lock and before he could manage to stop himself, he opened the door. Not a good idea! Stupid omega! He could hear his brain screaming but when Dean’s bright grin was revealed behind the door he suddenly didn't care what his mind was saying.

Dean automatically pushed his way in, but the grin on his face fell away as he was hit hard with the scent of omegas. The more dominant scent was of a bonded omega, smelt familiar like the other omega but different. Related he assumed. Dean could give two fucks about the other omega at that moment though.

His Sammy wasn't wearing blocker. He could smell his scent clearly now. It was caramel and burnt wood. It was Sam. He couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips.

The omega bit his lip as hard as he could because oh, was he regretting letting Dean in when he was like this. The alpha was less than a foot away from him in the narrow entryway and Sam found himself taken off guard by how much more potent Dean's scent was when he didn't numb his senses.

Well, staring at each other wasn't getting them anywhere, Dean's alpha was taking over and before he could tell himself not to do this, he was shoving Sam into the wall and kissing him hard. The other was losing himself in the scent as well and kissed back just as fervent as his alpha. His alpha. His alpha. Sam groaned into the kiss as Dean's tongue pushed its way into his mouth. 

When they pulled away for air, Dean was working on scenting his omega. He rubbed himself against Sam. The omega titled his head to the side in submission and that somehow felt wrong to Dean. His alpha loved it- was rolling in lust and triumph. But his sanity was still somewhat intact. His Sammy wasn't supposed to submit like that, not without teasing the shit out of him first. He pulled Sam's face to his and kissed him, still rubbing his hardening dick all over Sam's. a proper scenting would be without any clothes and he’d cum on his mate and rub it all over him so everyone would know that Sam was his but at least this way his scent would stick to Sam's skin for a good portion of the day.

Through the fog of his mind, Sam was able to register the alpha licking and suck his neck right above his scent gland and then there was another thought, the thought of Dean's hard on- the thought of his own hard on, the trickle of slick starting to build…

His mother in the shower.

And suddenly Sam was no longer horny. He took a deep breath of air, trying to ignore the scent of Dean’s lust, and pushed the alpha away. He angrily growled in response and tried to come at Sam again but the omega pushed him away again.

“Alph- Dean, my mom’s here!” Sam whispered frustratedly and the alpha paused, his blown pupils contracting to reveal bright green irises. They stood there for a long moment, both trying to regain their breath and then Dean was groaning in dramatic agony “You really know how to kill a good boner, don't cha, Sammy?”

There was literally nothing in Sam's vocabulary that could work as a proper response to that so he just shook his head. “You should go.” “Wait.” He sniffed at the air and for a brief moment Sam wondered nervously if his slick, though little of it, had a scent to it. Then Dean looked at him with what could only be wonder “Do I smell me some fresh baked blueberry muffins? I tasted it on you but I just thought you always taste delicious-” 

“If I give you one, will you please just leave?” Sam asked tiredly and Dean nodded. Sam eyed Dean warily before going into the kitchen. He grabbed up a muffin and paused a moment. He couldn't hear the water running anymore. Shit.

Dean waited in the entryway. His eyes locked onto the muffin hungrily the moment it came into sight. “Here. Take it and leave.” Dean did take it and let Sam push him back towards the door. “Your scent is amazing, Sam.” “Yeah, I'm sure it is, perv.” Sam opened the door and made to push Dean through it but the alpha turned back to him with all the seriousness in the world etched into his furrowed brows “I'm serious, Sam. Not in a sexually sexy way- which it totally is as well, score!- but I mean, you know… I think you're actually-”

“Sam? Where should I put my towel?” Mary called from down the hall and Sam flinched. “We’ll talk later, Dean.” And with that, Sam closed and locked the door.

Mary was just entering the living room area when Sam entered from the entryway. His mother was plunging her nose and looked at Sam in confusion and accusation “What the hell happened in here? It reeks of alpha and lust and-”

Yeah… Sam's rumpled appearance and a forming hicky on his neck was probably not going to help his case. Mary covered her nose with her shirt (the one she had been wearing when Sam picked her up, he noted. He would need to go get her some clothes from the house after work.) and put her hands on her hips. It looked rather comical but Sam wasn't fooled. She wanted an explanation, one that Sam didn't quite have yet, so he lowered his head and walked passed her with the mumble of “I’ll get the air fresher.”

So Sam's morning continued with getting rid of Dean and his scents, he drowned his neck with scent blocker and put on a fresh, scentless suit before heading off to work. Mary had been quite, reading one of his books when he had left but he had still felt her unspoken demand to know why her son was with some alpha if he was… like how he was. 

In the cab to work, Sam was annoyed to find that, although he had managed to cover his own scent, Dean's still lingered. He supposed if he wasn't on a heavy amount of hormone blocker his omega would take satisfaction in smelling like Dean. Though he would never let himself admit it, even his ‘logical’ side liked the concept deep down.

He was well aware of the looks he was receiving on the way to his office but he ignored them. He had an important case to get to work on right away. Sam called the hospital and inquired on his stepfather's condition. 

A single, shallow stab wound to his left rotator cuff. The nurse had explained. They had stitched him up and sent him home with a sling. Sam had thought for a minute or two how to proceed. Dean had sent him a couple of texts but Sam didn't respond. He needed to focus for his mother’s sake. 

It could take two weeks or more for a restraining order to be taken to court against Ketch. Then again, Sam could have his mother file for an emergency restraining order and have Ketch out of the house within twenty-four hours. The house was, after all, under Mary’s name. He would meet up with her on his lunch and have her fill out some paperwork. Arthur Ketch was a very wealthy man. Sam was positive the firm would back him and help him milk his stepfather dry.

There was a knock on his office door and he looked up from his papers to see Charlie standing in his doorway. A smirk was on her face as she made a show of scenting the air. He hadn't seen her in a while after she had moved out of his division two or three weeks prior and despite her teasing Sam found himself cracking a smile upon seeing her again.

“Is that… bartender I smell on you, Sam?” He rolled his eyes “yeah yeah, laugh it up.” She came further into the office “I'm not laughing at you, Sam. I am so happy for you! But he hasn't made it official yet, huh?” She looked at Sam's neck, mostly covered by his suit and the beta looked at her tiredly “We met a month and a half ago, Charlie. I'm not jumping into a… bond with someone I barely know.” 

The alpha shrugged “I donno. Me and my girl kinda just clicked, I marked her on the third date and that was in high school.” Sam was taken back by this confession. Underage marking was common, what with horny teenagers and what not, but usually the families intervened and forced them to break the bond, which was extremely painful (especially for omegas, as he remembered his mother laid out on the couch crying in pain when he was no more than three) and could take years to get rid of completely.

When no response was forthcoming from Sam, Charlie continued a bit more reluctant. “But that's, um. Not why I came here. I came to tell you before anyone else did that I've been promoted to head of your branch- it doesn't go into effect until next week, but um, yeah. I'm your boss now.” 

Oh.

Of course, though. She was, after all, the niece of a board director and an alpha. But that was being facetious. Charlie had racked up quite a reputation for cracking hard cases and convincing the defendants of their own guilt. She was a genius protégé wrapped up in a dorky, awkward appearance. He bet that being an alpha and the niece of a board member helped to make her promotion seem more valid but Charlie deserved it.

“Congratulations, uh, wow.” He finally said and she smiled brightly “Awe, thanks, Sam- when they offered me the position I told them they should be giving it to you, but I couldn't convince them. Sorry about that.” Sam waved her off “I appreciate that thought but this is the highest possible position for a beta it seems. And I don't think I'm up for being anymore than a lawyer and part time teacher.” 

Sam had forgotten how great Charlie was since she had left his division and he was glad, if any alpha was going to be the new divorce and personal victim branch supervisor, Charlie would be the least nosy and threatening.


	30. Making Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must say, I’ve read the entirety of this story several times trying to keep all the elements cohesive. But there are always a few chapters I go and read just for fun because they are my favorite.
> 
> This chapter is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it~

After what he had done to Sam that morning, Dean was restless. He had let his alpha go out of control and had done things that were, well, admittedly freakin hot, but something that the omega was scared of. He had tried to get a hold of Sam later, when it was slow at work but Sam had been ignoring him.

He worried about whether he had upset him or not. God, he hated not knowing what Sam was thinking. Benny had come in around three as he often did, switching out with his daughter Elizabeth. He’d sniffed the air once and had frowned slightly, looking Dean right in the eyes.

“What's with the stink eye?” Dean asked warily. The older alpha came around the bar and pulled Dean back so that no one would hear him. “I don't know what you're doin’ but I ain't no fan, Dean.” The absence of the affectionate ‘brother’ at the end made Dean realize that whatever Benny was talking about was not a joke.

“You still seein’ that beta?” Dean tried to understand where this line of questioning was heading but came up blank “Yes…? What does that have to-” “Then why the hell you stink of virgin omega and guilt?” That made Dean blanch. He hadn't thought anything wrong about letting Sam's scent linger. He hadn't thought about the fact that Sam was a beta to everyone besides him. 

“Shit.” That hadn't meant to make its way past his lips, he quickly scrambled to come up with an answer but Benny beat him to the punchline. “It ain't my job as your boss to tell you how you ought to live your life. But as your friend, as a brother, you gotta get your shit together. Relationships are a completely different animal than hookups- and don't go bein’ stupid and thinkin just cause he's a beta he ain't gonna find out. Betas can be just as sharp as alphas, ya know.”

Dean furrowed his eyebrows. It was odd to hear his friend giving him a good reprimand for ‘cheating’ on Sam but he didn't want to draw any suspicion so he nodded and looked to the side. “I know, it was stupid- I didn't do it with… her, but…” Dean had to admit, if he wasn't so use to his job at the bar he thought he could pick up an acting career. He sure had an easy time acting guilty.

Benny gave him a good hard look, searching for any hint of a lie in Dean's eyes and then pushed the other towards the back “You best be washin’ that scent off you and when you get home tonight you better beg that beta’s forgiveness.” 

Later, at the end of Dean's shift, he was surprised to see Sam come in. He was holding himself awkwardly and wouldn't quite meet his eyes. Dean assumed it was because of that morning.

“Hey, Sammy! Stoppin’ in for a drink? Or are you here to check out the man candy?” He wiggled his eyebrows at him and that got Sam to smile. “What man candy? All I see is you.” Then his smile dropped and the beta looked unsure.

“What is it?” Dean lowered his voice and leaned over the counter towards Sam who took a deep breath “So, I'm going to ask you to do me a favor but it might involve getting hurt in a best case scenario. The police in a worse case scenario and if the worst case scenario happens, I might, you know, have to bail.” This was a very surprising request from the omega, but Dean wasn't scared “You're talking to a former burglar. What do you need me to do?” 

“That's actually exactly what I need you to help me do. See, my mom is staying at my place because things have finally gotten too much for her with my stepfather. He’s out of the hospital now and I don't want to go over there to get her clothes by myself.” That was a lot to take in, Dean blinked and then repeated “He got out of the hospital? What did your mom do, stab him?” When Sam just stared at him Dean stopped trying to joke. “And I thought my family was dysfunctional.”

“I have my mom’s key so I'd like to just get in, get her things, and get out as quickly as possible, hopefully avoiding Ketch.” It wouldn't be too difficult, Dean assumed and gave his hopeful looking boyfriend a nod. He would rather risk his freedom than letting Sammy go into that house with that disgusting pig.

Dean took Sam out around back of the bar to his baby. When Sam climbed into the passenger seat, he allowed himself a moment to bask in the glory of having two of his favorite things in the world in one place at the same time. The only thing he thought could make that moment any better was if Sam wasn't on his blockers, preferably laid out with a big juicy burger. Mm, Sam with a side of burger. Can't go wrong with that.

Right. Driving. Sam was giving him an odd look as he finally started up the car after a solid minute of just sitting there.

They pulled up to Sam's childhood home around seven o’clock. Ketch would still be awake for another six hours or so working on whatever it was he did for a living. Sam had never cared enough to ask. Real Estate, maybe? In any case, Dean had reassured him that they wanted Ketch awake, downstairs would be even better. They just needed to make sure he wasn't in his and Mary's room for this to work.

“Okay, you understand the game plan?” Dean asked and Sam nodded, the alpha went to open his car door when Sam stopped him. “Wait, Dean. Won't he smell your scent?” Dean thought it over for a second before waving it off. “Never got in the way before.” Sam bit his lip, thinking and then dug around in his briefcase “well, for my own worry, I think you should put this on.” Sam pulled out what looked like a deodorant stick but after taking a hold of it he saw that it was scent neutralizer.

“It's natural.” The omega added awkwardly when Dean just stared at him “You mean to tell me that you've had this but you've been using the stuff that causes cancer? What the heck, Sam?” The other looked away from Dean “It's my backup. My scent is more... potent than it use to be, I guess.” The alpha shifted, took a deep breath, let it out, then opened his door. He wasn't sure what Dean was thinking, he went to open his own door when Dean leaned down into the opening of his still open door. 

“Hand me it.”

“What?”

“The scent thing.”

Dean had taken his shirt off in the middle of the residential street, Sam was just glad it was dark and no one was out. The alpha reluctantly rubbed the neutralizer all over his chest before handing it back to Sam and tugging his shirt back over his head. The alpha made a face “this feels… weird. Let's just hurry up and get this over with.”

They made their way over to the house quietly and peeked in through the parting in the kitchen window curtains. The lights were on but nobody was inside that room. Sam had a pretty definite idea as to where Ketch would be at this time. 

Sitting at the small, oak dining room table. Papers would be scattered in a chaotic organization across its surface. Just as it had been one of the nights Sam had been hanging out with friends after school his high school senior year and hadn't come home until right before dinner.

Sam hated recalling the way Arthur had grabbed hold of him, digging his thumb painfully in Sam's scent gland until he fell to his knees. He had been yelling about disobeying him but Sam hadn't heard much of whatever it was. He usually tuned out his stepfather’s alpha rhetoric. 

They moved along the side of the house, and just as Sam had thought. Arthur Ketch sat with his back to the window at the dining room table rifling through papers with one hand. It disgusted the omega the way this man could be stabbed by his wife because he attacked her and then less than twenty-four hours later, he was calmly going over the work he had brought home. No mind that his wife wasn't there. Sam really would like to punch him.

“Okay. We know where he is. Any security systems?” Dean whispered just above a breath. Sam shook his head and the other gave him a thumbs up. “Front door is too close to the dining room. Show me the window of the bedroom.” The alpha whispered again and Sam quietly led the way. It sounded and looked as if Dean was enjoying himself. He wondered if the alpha would ever fall back into a thieving life but push it away. Now was not the time to think about that.

He led Dean to the other side of the house and pointed up to the window on the second floor. Dean raised his arm as well and it took a good long second for Sam to register what his burglar was doing. “Did you really just take a picture of us? On my phone? How the heck did you even get that?” Dean shrugged as he assets the targeted window. “I'm just makin memories, Sammy. And it had to be your phone. Can't take pictures on mine. If you don't want me using it than put it in your front pocket and add a freakin password on it.”

Sam watched in bemusement as Dean felt up the heating and air unit “It's probably not the best idea to take pictures of us committing crimes.” But it didn't seem his boyfriend was listening anymore as he was carefully climbing up onto the air unit, than he was lifting himself by his arms alone straight up onto the first floor roof, he looked down at Sam and called in a whisper “Don't grab onto the storm drain.”

He followed suit, first climbing the air conditioning and heating unit, then to the roofing. It was tricky not to grab hold of the storm drain but Sam managed only to grab hold of it once as he pulled himself up. It had creaked and almost broken off from the flimsy screws holding it in place. He had to admit, Dean's upper body strength was impressive.

They crept as quietly as church mice. Pausing a moment if either of them caused the wood panels of the roof groan, they made it to the window and Dean shook his head at how easy the window lock was to break open and slid into the dark room quietly, he helped Sam down after him and scrunched up his nose. This was a mated alphaomega couples nest. It made both of them feel sick to their stomachs to be standing in the center of it all.

Right. They’d finish this and get the hell out of there. Maybe they'd even stop for ice cream before he had to drop Sam off. Pushing past the uneasy feeling of being in someone else's nest, Sam took the empty duffle bag off his shoulders and went to work shoving the contents of his mother’s dresser into the bag. 

“You know, I’ve been doin’ some research, Sammy. Did you know that already, twenty seven states allow omegas the option to conceal completely? Their saying it's for personal safety reasons that-” Sam looked back at Dean incredulously “Now is really not the time for this discussion, Dean.” He really couldn't focus on whatever the alpha was saying. Adrenaline was pumping, he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

The boards on the stairs began to squeaked in quick succession. Ketch knew they were here. Dean didn't waste a single second. He grabbed hold of Sam and shoved him towards the window. They both made it out the window just as Ketch threw the door open. They stood on either side of the window. Sam swallowed a lump in his throat. Fear was raising. If his stepfather looked out the window he'd see them.

Growling erupted from inside and the omega’s fear was going to come true. Ketch had seen the open drawers and now he had seen the open window. 

“Samuel Ketch, if you are behind this, so help me…” the alpha mumbled. Dean had a hard time not growling at the one who was threatening his Sammy. So it was time to run. Dean signaled to Sam and right before Ketch poked his head out the window they both ran down the shingles, Sam almost tripped but Dean caught him by the arm and yanked him back up. They sat on the edge of the roof and jumped.

Waves of pain filled the omega’s legs from the hard impact but he would be fine, he needed to focus on getting the hell out of there. 

Dean jumped in through baby's open window and Sam quickly got in. “Get down!” The alpha whispered and pushed Sam down. The sound of the front door of the house slamming open made Sam flinch. Why wasn't Dean driving?

He watched, peeking slightly over the edge of the drivers side window as Sam's stepdad went around to the side of the house to investigate. So that was the asshole, his mind thought. If he ever ran into that British douchebag he would give him the uppercut of his life.

When Ketch had looked around for a good ten minutes, he went back inside rubbing at his undoubtedly sore shoulder. Dean sat up and slowly turned baby over. He watched the house for a minute before pulling from the curb slowly and driving away at residential speed limits. 

“We couldn't take off right away in a car like baby, Sam. She's too recognizable and her roar is loud. She'd draw attention.” Dean answered Sam's unspoken question and the omega sighed. “Well, that almost gave me a heart attack but at least we were able to get some of her clothes.”

They stayed in a content silence for a long while as they drove, then Dean clear his throat and Sam looked over to him tiredly. “But um, I was looking into it Sammy. We could always move to a state that allows concealed genders and stuff, ya know. So you wouldn't be breakin the law.” 

“I've heard about it, Dean. But I don't want to move away from my mom- wait, ‘we’, as in you and me?” “No, you and freakin blue beard- yes, me! I mean, it's obvious by now, isn't it?” The alpha puffed out in frustration and Sam eyed him warily “What's obvious?”

Dean pulled off the main road and put it in park on the curb in front of Sam's apartment complex. The alpha took a deep breath and for once Sam was the one wishing the other wasn't wearing scent blocker so he could know where he was going with this.

“Not this very moment, but sometime down the road, I want to… you know, bond, with you.” It hit Sam hard and his eyes widen considerably. That was, only natural, right? The next step in their relationship would be… intimacy and starting a bond would have to be considered. If things weren't discussed properly and Sam didn't want to bond, in a cloud of pheromones Dean wouldn't be able to bring himself to listen to commands. 

“I'm… not entirely sure if I… but, I um, think I'm on my way to-” “I couldn't understand anything you just said, Sammy.” He looked over at the omega expectantly “I’m not ready to think of stuff like that yet, Dean. But… if I’m being honest I'm pretty sure that I might almost love you.”

The air was full of tension and Sam contemplated for a long while whether or not he should get out when Dean grabbed hold of one of his hands “Okay. I can live with that right now. I can't help myself from wanting more, though.” He brought Sam's hand up to his face and smirked when the omega looked on. Sam’s eyes were so bright in the darkness of the car. And just because he could, he licked Sam's palm, laughing as the latter recoiled indignantly and glared.

“That's disgusting!” When Dean just went on laughing. Sam wiped the spit on Dean's jacket and climbed out of the car with the duffle bag in his hand. The alpha called out “G’night, Sam!” Before the other could close the passenger side door.

Sam took the elevator up to floor three thinking of Dean's words. Would he want to move with him? Would he really want to come out as an omega again? Of course, Dean wanted him to so they could bond. Did Dean also want kids? A kid, sounded better in Sam's mind- whoa. He hadn't thought of having kids since he was still proud to be an omega. 

But he knew that even if his mother’s case looked open and shut, Ketch could get himself a good lawyer and twist things around to make Mary seem like the bad guy. The case could go on for at least a year before he could break through. Would Dean even want to wait that long for him? He wasn't much to wait for. Just a pile of broken pieces, really. 

His gut clenched painfully as he neared the door to his apartment and he found himself having to lean against the wall to steady himself. His omega was burning him from the inside, almost as if it were punishing him for even thinking of breaking up with Dean. God, the stress of all those thoughts made him want to vomit.

It was selfish, but Sam wanted to hold onto Dean. And who knows, he thought to himself, maybe Kansas would legalize concealed gender acts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tough decisions to think about on Sam’s part. Stick around for more~!


	31. Scent And Fantasies

Sam couldn't sleep. The smell of Dean was in his bed. He didn't know how, but Dean's scent had found its way into his nest and it was driving him crazy.

He gave up on sleep temporarily and sat up, sniffing the air in hopes of locating the source. And that's when he remembered, the alpha had licked his hand. Hesitantly, he lifted his hand to his nose and a sharp prick of pleasure climbed up his back. Well that was new, he thought as he bit his lip to hold back a moan. Was it the fact that it was Dean's scent inside his room?- or nest, whatever it was called. 

He stared into the darkness at the hand for a long while, trying to talk himself out of putting it back in his face but it was a weak argument and he soon found himself taking deep breaths of the scent that was purely Dean.

His body quivered involuntarily and his back arched off the bed, searching for the alpha- his alpha. But to his hazy dismay, Dean wasn't there. Only his scent.

And that's when Sam got a very dirty idea, he slid the hand with Dean on it down his face, over his white, sleep shirt. He paused at the lip of his briefs. It was not a good idea to put Dean's scent there. But his mind was losing to his body that ached for his alpha.

It had been almost a half a year since Sam had jerked off. His medication had started to lessen his sexdrive over the years but now, now he was feeling the pressure of going so long without any relief. The heat from his hard on touched his hand before the actual skin. Smooth, soft skin of an omega cock sliding hot and slow into his hand. Into Dean's lingering salvia. 

A gasped escaped his lips and he turn over onto his side, biting into his pillow to keep himself quiet. It was too hot, too much. His eyes were watering, the friction against his member with the the illusion that Dean, Dean was the one bringing him off. His toned body overtop of Sam. He desperately pulled up the memory of Dean shirtless as he applied blocker earlier in the evening. It brought him over the edge too soon, to fast, it was almost painful to orgasm. 

He screamed in ecstasy into the pillow and let himself imagine that his alpha was there, cuming with him. And then he was crying. Because the omega inside him wanted the alpha to be there, he could feel it inside him, calling out uselessly to Dean. He moved, rolling over to his back again. The feel of slick soaking through his partially pushed down underwear making him want to cry even more. 

Forget whatever was happening around him in his life, he needed Dean, needed him more than he needed air to breathe. But he had to smother that thought before it grew too big. No matter what his omega wanted, Sam had to resist.

Why he had to resist was becoming hard to remember these days.


	32. From a Legal or Friend’s Standpoint?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello~ yet another chapter for your enjoyment. Reworked some of the conversation just now, made it a bit longer hope you like it~!

Castiel went a full three days after returning to work before he had a run in with Crowley. It went by… awkwardly. It consisted of the alpha pausing in his discussion with one of his worker bees as he walked down the hall to stare as Castiel came from the other end of the hall. The beta had stood there for a moment, recalling the rough impact of his boss’ body into his own. The mark on his neck tingled when he realized that Crowley was staring at his covered neck as if he was trying to melt the button down collar off to see the mark. His heart racing for no apparent reason.

The exchange had ended stiffly, Crowley had looked as though he wanted to have a word with him but Castiel panicked. He turned back the way he had come and disappearing between the cubicles. At some point, he would need to talk to his… bondmate, sooner or later but the beta was choosing later. And he was glad that his boss wasn’t pushing for once.

Castiel paused as he packed up his things for the day and thought back on what Dean had talked to him about a few days prior. He wondered about the importance of bonds. Dean seemed to take them very seriously, and Crowley… well, even he seemed more apt to acknowledge his presence around him than he usually was. Maybe it was really something important that he shouldn’t be contemplating keeping it for the hell of it.

He had no omega friends for their perspective on the matter but as far as betas were concerned, bonds weren't that big of a deal. Two betas in a relationship would not feel the instinct to mark each other. It was the alpha/beta, alpha/omega, and even the alpha/alpha pairings involved marking- claiming, he supposed. It was the alpha (or alphas) that needed to claim by bite because of their power complexes. They wanted to own.

He had managed to snag Sam for dinner. The last time he had talked to Sam in person had been when he met up with him to chaperone his date with Dean. Since then, they had text very rarely, taking to using Dean as a sort of messenger. It had just become so easy to talk through the alpha because he saw both of them almost everyday if not everyday. 

Dean wasn't perfect though, he often complained about them not using their phones to talk to each other, and other times he would tell them something completely opposite to what they had said just to mess with them.

Also, Sam was a fellow beta dating an alpha. It would be great to get insight into what he should do with his boss.

Castiel walked into the small diner and smiled when he saw Sam reading through a stack of paperwork intently. He slid into the booth across from him and finally Sam looked up to the other beta, an almost relieved expression haunting his tired face.

“Hello, Sam. I see you've been busy.” Sam nodded and put away the papers neatly in a binder to clear up the table, though Castiel didn't really mind.

“Yeah, sorry I brought work with me. I've been running around a lot this week. I've got a really tough divorce case on top of all Crowley’s paperwork. I need to request a vacation, Cas.” He shook his head “You and me both know you would end up working on a vacation, Sam.”

They talk briefly of work but fell into a companionable silence as Cas looked over the menu while Sam took a gulp of bitter coffee and cringed. “How’er things with Crowley?” He ventured to ask and Castiel sat down the menu with a long sigh.

“You know, I've been back to work for three days now and I still don't know where I stand with him. He tried to talk to me but I wasn’t sure what to do so I ran away like a coward.” He gripped at his short black hair and Sam gave him a sympathetic smile. “You’re not a coward, Cas. What happened… well. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in your position but it’s not your fault Crowley is an absolute ass.” That made a small smile nudge its way onto his face. He had missed seeing Sam. He always seemed to make him feel less like crap.

“What do you think about this whole thing? What should I do?” Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise at the question “From a legal standpoint or from a friends standpoint?”

He shrugged “both, I guess.” “Well, legally, Crowley is only allowed to have one bondmate. He's still in the process of getting rid of his exwife. And this is the friend bit, I'm really hurting my work by telling you this so please hold off on a nonconsenting bond lawsuit until after I've got his literal hooker ex out of his hair. If it came out that this happened between you guys, he would lose a good thirty percent of his company's equity to pay her off. But I really think you should start a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. I won't even represent him if you want.”

Castiel’s stomach groaned in hunger but he didn't flag down the waiter who had yet to take his order because he was staring at Sam in confusion. “Crowley's married?” Sam made an ‘eh’ unsure sound “technically, yes. But they've actually only seen each other one day, so-” “I slept with a married man...” The beta lowered his voice almost as if he was repeating it to himself. Was it bad that the idea didn’t bother him as much as it should have? Sam grimaced, yeah… there was no denying that. Even if it was only in the papers.

“Uh, in less than a week the divorce should be finalized though…” Sam paused, eying the betrayal drifting through his friend’s face. It wasn't directed at him and that led him to wonder the true nature of Castiel’s relationship with Crowley.

“Are you… planning on keeping the bond?” Cas looked up, eyebrows drawn together in confusion and anger. He hated the fact that a bit of him wanted to keep it still. “I don't know anymore. If you don't mind me asking, but what was it like with you and Dean? He seems to think bonds are really important. How does he react to seeing yours?”

Sam was quiet for a long moment as he registered what the beta had asked him and felt himself flush at the suggestion that he was bonded to Dean, despite himself. “I'm really not the best person to ask about something like that, Cas.” The other smiled “Oh c’mon, Sam. I don't want the details. We're both betas bonded with al-” 

“Dean and I haven't bonded.” Sam blurted and the other paused, gave him an uncomprehending look “What do you mean guys aren't bonded? Are you guys having issues?” When Sam didn't meet his eyes Castiel felt his bug out of his head in surprise “You two seriously are not bonded? How on earth did you manage that?”

Sam shrugged awkwardly “Our relationship is, what I guess some would refer to as… weird? We’re taking things slow because… yeah.” Castiel was still unbelieving, it just didn't seem possible that Dean could be so infatuated with Sam and not claim him. And then a thought it hit him so suddenly he couldn’t keep himself from asking if it had any truth. His eyebrows furrowed and in an incredulous voice “Sam, are you a virgin still?”

See, that was one of those things that had him mentally smacking his own idioticness. Dean and some coworkers had berated him about being too blunt- having no tac, not thinking what things over before they came out. This was a prime example.

The blushed that consumed Sam’s face was answer enough “Cas!” The other beta raised his hands in defense “Sorry, Sorry. That really wasn’t my business. But if that’s the case I guess I can understand the want to take things slow with Dean.” Sam gave an awkward shrug and stirred at his coffee absently. It looked so out of place for the well muscled, tall beta lawyer to look so shy about something as common and natural as sex. Maybe this was a more sensitive area for his friend. He decided he’d change the subject to ease Sam’s embarrassment.

The night went on, they stayed away from topics of bonding or Crowley which left them with talking about family and Dean. Mostly Dean, though Castiel was adamant in showing off the picture of his nephew Jack dressed for prom. Saying something about him having the strong Novak genes passed on by his step sister Kelly. They swapped some jokes about Dean in a good mannered way. The absent alpha none the wiser that his best friend and boyfriend were making fun of him.

They said their goodbyes some hours later in the parking lot. Cas made sure Sam's cab actually showed up before taking off in- what Dean called his ‘pimp mobile’. When he arrived at his apartment, he was exhausted but the baby crying upstairs had just started up and it usually took the prostitute mother a good thirty minutes of shushing and crying herself before she was able to get the baby quiet.

He lived in such a sad place, full of such sad people. He was beginning to wonder if he was a sad person for living there or if he was sad, therefore, living there. His mind drifted to his boss and his wife and felt anger bubble back up to the surface. Why was he so put out by that title? What he had with the alpha was purely physical, in the heat of a moment. So why did it bother him so much if Crowley had bonded with someone else? Someone that he had known for less than a day as Sam had said.

It was all too confusing at the moment, he would need to discuss what was to come next with Crowley and that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, both Sam and Castiel are struggling with the idea of bonding with their alpha’s.
> 
> Also, I’d love to write a one shot Dean/Sam a/o story soon so if there is anything you’d like to see specifically leave it in the comments. I’ve got a basic idea already but I’m always open to suggestions~


	33. “Lived In”

Sam had been acting… well, kinda like Sam, but before he had started opening up to Dean. He just seemed uncomfortable around the alpha. Had it been because he had told Sam he wanted to bond with him? He sure hoped not. It was as if, the omega couldn't really meet Dean's eyes anymore, like he was scared or something. 

‘Course, Dean hadn't been seeing much of Sam in the last few days. He swore it was as if the latter was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Sam went from court in the morning to get Mary’s restraining order against Arthur Ketch, then the next day he was taking a trip to Crowley’s soon to be ex wife in a different state to get some signatures because she ‘refused’ to fax.  
Then the day after that, Ketch sent his lawyers into Sam's work to intimidate him. 

It wasn't a mystery that they wouldn't have time together with all the legal proceedings. 

That day Sam was taking his mother back to the house Ketch would be ordered to move out of by the next day and they were apparently dead set on scrubbing the house clean on the alpha’s scent. Dean had offered to help, but Sam hadn't really explained their relationship to his mom yet. When Dean had not hidden his disappointment about being denied a ‘meet the parents (or parent in this case)’ moment Sam had gotten all red but had played it off coolly with an ‘I guess you could meet her soon’. Soon being not now. Meaning he wouldn't be able to see his Sammy either.

It was probably a good thing, his heightening senses in the last couple days comboed with the itch under his skin was as good a sign as any that his rut would be coming up sooner than later. He always got really irritated and pissy before a rut. The actual rut usually was a three day thing that happened once every three months for alphas when their knots swelled and they couldn't think of anything but the need to mate.

Dean never had his rut with anyone before, too worried his alpha would hurt them in his eagerness and often he had someone (his dad when he was younger, Cas now) lock him into his room. His mind came across the thought of having his rut with Sam and quickly had to change thoughts because he really didn't want to get hot and bothered at work.

Sam was busy- and, an omega. One that could more than likely get pregnant, and Dean had a feeling that his alpha in a rut dazzled mind wouldn't want a condom. And then there was also Sam's virginity to keep in mind. His first time should be perfect, he wanted to make Sam feel good. Ruts and heats… well, they could be real messy and careless at times. If he could, he’d want to keep Sam away from the violent, possessive nature of his alpha instincts as long as he could. He didn’t want Sam to have to see him lost to instincts at all if he was being honest. He was bound to ruin everything if he let that happen.

Still, it was kinda killing Dean's recent happy streak by life and his biology holding him back from seeing his Sammy. 

Benny wandered over to where Dean was occupying his time with washing the dining wear that had piled up in the sink and clasped his friend’s shoulder. He relished in the little flinch he got out of the other alpha. 

“Got everything sorted at home, with your partner and what not?” Dean fished around in his memory for what his boss could be referring to and then nodded casually. “Yep, eh. Sam didn't like it too much but he forgave me. I sure got lucky with him.” Benny thought this over. He couldn't see that neat, lawyer forgiving cheating too easy, at least, that's the vibe the alpha had been able to make of the brief moments he had seen ‘Sam’.

“Right, just… try to stay out of trouble from now on. Trust me, brother. You'll be happier in the long run if things work out for the two of you. I just know it.”

 

Dean looked at his longtime friend and was about to give him an attitude to break up the unexpected chick flick moment when Elizabeth pushed open the back entrance and looked over to her father “Dad, you hear the new, yet?”

“What is it, pumpkin?” 

Dean just tuned their conversation out and got to work scrubbing the gunk of the dishes.

He slipped into baby's front seat and sighed. Things were as they had been no more than two months ago but his life suddenly felt so mundane and not satisfying with Sam not being around. He hadn't been drinking as much lately but now the sudden craving for a good bourbon and some potato chips was hitting him hard.

As if reading his mind, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He freed it from his jeans and was a bit surprised to see Sam calling him. He never called, it was only ever texts. Some stupid reason like, he hated the way his voice sounded on the phone.

“Hello?”

[“Uh, hi. I know you're probably already home, and I know I already asked a huge favor of you this week-”]

“Nah, it's fine. I haven't left work yet. Had to do some things first. Anyway, what’s the problem? If you want me to break into another house I'd do it for you, Sammy.”  
Embarrassment followed right after he had said it. God, he bet Sam could feel his desperation through the phone

[“Good to hear you're dedicated.”] Sam snickered before letting out a huff of frustration [“I kinda left my keys at my mom’s house. I took a cab home only to realize I forgot them. So um, the favor I'm asking but I feel bad about asking is, can you drive me back to her house and then back here? I don't have enough in my wallet for another cab tonight and I promise I'll give you gas money tomorrow or something-”]

“I could always pick you up and you could spend the night at my place. It would be easier to just go pick your keys up in the morning, especially since we both don't start work until noon.”

Oh, he had just goofed, didn't he? Sam was a long way from sayin- “Okay.” Dean blinked down at the phone then put it back up to his ear “Okay?” [“Yeah, I mean, you aren't going to try anything are you? Should I be concerned, Dean?”] That last part was said with a increasing suspicion and Dean waved his hand even though Sam couldn't see the gesture “What? Of course I won't jump your bones.” He thought that statement over, then amended “Unless you're willing to beg~”

[“Then we won't have a problem.”]

“You wouldn't beg for me, Sammy?” The alpha teased.

[“I’m hanging up now.”]

“Be there soon.”

When Dean pulled up to the curb outside Sam's apartment building he frowned when he saw the omega standing out in the cold, hugging his arms to his chest. He was wearing a thin sweater not designed for actually keeping you warm. He rolled down the passenger side window and looked Sam over incredulously.

“Have you been freezing your buns off out here the whole time? Why the hell didn't you wait inside the main office?”

“You said you’d be here soon so I came out here.” The omega explained as he climbed into Dean's car, a black leather bag of papers in hand. He caught the alpha’s questioning look and sat the bag down on the floorboard with a dismissive wave of the hand. “Just some paperwork I had to run by my mom.”

His omega seemed to be upset over something, he looked over a few times at him silently watching the front window as they cruised the lit streets before speaking up “What's wrong, Sam?” “Hm? Oh, um… it's just Ketch and his lawyers. I mean, Ketch has been around a long time so he knows what I am.”

That was an unpleasant thought. Dean glared at the road ahead of them in place of the dickbag of a stepfather Sam had. “What, has he been threatening to expose you? ‘Cause I can always buy a gun and take care of-”

“Yeah, probably not the best idea to tell a defender of the law your plans to kill someone.” Sam bit his lip “His lawyers handed me a sealed envelope directly from Ketch. I don't think they knew what it said. It was a handwritten letter telling me to stop interfering with his marriage to my mother. He told me all the times he could have bonded me when I first presented but didn't because he ‘loved my mother too much’…”

The alpha growled, he really, really wanted to kill this bastard. “Then, he said if I didn't drop my mother's divorce and abuse case that he would expose me.” He finished and gave a puff of humorless laughter “That asshole…”

“You'll be fine Sammy. Nothing bad ‘s gonna hurt you. I won't let it.”

“You’re surprisingly good at that.”   
“What?”  
“Talking.”   
The alpha grinned “Well, it is my speciality.”

They were coming up on Dean's apartment complex and he pointed it out reluctantly. Inside his apartment wasn't so bad, but the owners of the building really could give the outside a good scrub to make it not look so grimy.

Sam tried not to show any reaction to the appearance of the building but he felt his nose scrunch up before he could stop it. When he had settled his expression he gave a noncommittal nod which made Dean roll his eyes. “It looks a lot better inside.” He defended as he pulled into the garage and went for his designated parking spot. The landlady was a witch of a woman but she loved baby almost as much as Dean did so she gave him a parking spot tucked away in the corner, hidden behind a big truck so no one from the street looking in could see his baby. 

Now that he was at the door of his apartment with Sam he tried to make clear what his previous mentions of it looking better on the inside meant. “So, it's clean, but with a comfortable ‘lived in’ feel, ya know?” The omega seemed oddly quiet and spaced out. Dean gave his cheek a small slap, nothing that would actually hurt and that got Sam operating at full capacity again. 

“Hey, don't think about all that shit goin’ on with Ketch and your mom.” “I wasn't, actually. Thanks for reminding me of other things I need to stress out over.”

He unlocked the door and pushed it wide open, gesturing for Sam to enter first. There was the smallest of hesitation, then the omega was inside the alpha’s territory. Dean really shouldn't be relishing in the accomplishment as much as he was but who was gonna stop him? 

“This is what you call ‘lived in’?” Sam rhetorically asked. No, this was a mess. Beer bottles scattered about the ground by the couch, six beer cans stacked on the coffee table into a pyramid, all manner of clothing scattered on the floor and couch. Sam was just glad there wasn't any food laying out. He had to at least admit that the side recliner chair to the right of the couch and the tv were kept clean.

Everything was covered in a thick layer of Dean's scent, it brought to mind the guilty pleasure he had had that night after they broke into his mom's house. To be in the alpha's territory was almost as pleasurable as the alpha's scent in his nest.

Dean took off his jacket and threw it to floor before plopping down on the couch “Well, at least my apartment looks like I live here.” “That it does.” Sam said and stood there for an awkward moment before sitting down beside Dean. 

“Do you… watch the news at all?” That was an odd question. Dean quirked an eyebrow at the omega as he itched at his arms. Damnit. He hated pre-rut. “Do you want me to put it on?” “No, I was just… asking.” He regarded Sam for a long moment, the impulse to kiss him unbearable, so he did.

Gentle, soft kisses to the corner of Sam's slightly parted mouth. He felt a bit of pride, getting this far with Sam that he could kiss him without much hesitation or worry of rejection. The omega turned into the kiss and timidly kissed back. It was that show of Sam's innocence that made his alpha rise dominantly. It was always harder to control himself close to his rut.

He licked at the seam of Sam's lips and the omega opened his mouth welcoming the invasion. Dean subconsciously was aware that his body was moving, leaning into the other and pushing him down into the couch, but the forefront of his mind was consumed with the taste of cherry pie in Sam's mouth. It wasn't fair how amazing this person was, how since he came into his life he couldn't go on without him. Why had it taken him so long to find Sam? God, where would they be now if Dean had met Sam when he first came back to Lawrence? That would’ve been right around the time Sam first presented. Would the old punk ass Dean even have a chance with that Sam? 

Then there were fingers sliding into his hair. He couldn't help himself from moaning as Sam pulled at his short hair. He was more than halfway overtop of Sam and he could feel the raising of his partner's heartbeat. He sucked at the other’s tongue, his hands coming up to rub at that too thin sweater across Sam's chest.

He realized in surprise that the omega was making small purring sounds into the heated kiss. God damn. If only Sam wouldn't wear the blocker. But he guessed it was a good thing he was wearing it or Dean wouldn't be able to stop.

Panting filled the empty space as they pulled apart for air and the sight underneath him had him almost choking. Sam reddened face and half lidded eyes, the string of their mixed spit disappearing when he pulled back. Sam probably wasn't even aware that he was exposing his neck to the alpha.

He wanted to bite Sam so bad. He wanted take him slow and sweet then hard and fast the second round because there would be a second round if Sam thought it was okay to look so damn sexy in front of him.

Sam had steadied his breath and now sat up as well, trying to recapture Dean's lips. He couldn't get his head to turn away at first, just enjoying the sweet pull of Sam's lips on his. He let himself kiss back but finally decided to end it when Sam tried to deepen the kiss again.

“Sam, we should stop.”

Sam tried to kiss him again but Dean held up his hands in defense. “I'm serious, Sam.”

“I want to keep going.” It was no more than a whisper through an exhale but it was clear as a bell to the alpha who felt his hardening member twitch with excitement. He stared at Sam's clear and alert eyes, trying to evaluate his state of mind. The omega was jittery but looked to be all there.

“If we go any further, I won't be able to stop myself too easy, Sammy. Are you sure? ‘Cause you kinda rejected all my other come ons.” Sam rolled his eyes and pulled Dean to him, not for another kiss, but for a hug. “Sounds like you're the one who doesn't want to do it-”

“Trust me, I want to.” The omega bit his lip, this didn't feel right. Dean was… becoming someone very special to him very quickly and yet… Sam couldn't bring himself to sacrifice something for him? That is to say, the thing he would need to sacrifice was his independence, his job… they would also need to leave this town. 

It was those thoughts that had the mood dying down. “Maybe, when I get my mom's divorce finalized… I could be something like your omega. But I really can't deal with this right now, Dean.”

“It's your body, Sam. Whatever makes you comfortable is okay with me. ‘Course, you getting off those poison pills would be a plus.” 

Sam yawned then smiled contently “How can you be so great but also a frustrating asshole?” Dean took the yawn as a cue and stood from the couch but not before planting a quick peck on the omega's forehead, maybe lingering a moment longer than necessary. “Because, Sam. We're meant to be together- soulmates, or whatever girly crapolla you want to call it. All I know is that we were meant to be together. Can't hate your soulmate, can you?”

There was a wall clock hanging near them and Sam cringed a little when he realized it was passed his designated sleep time. 

“I’ll go get you something to sleep with.” Dean announced before walking out of the room.

There was something so satisfying about Dean's place- Dean in general, he realized in surprise as he laid on the lumpy couch wrapped in a clean sheet that only vaguely smelt of the alpha. He thought of the protection act that would be decided upon sometime that week and then he felt a wave of nausea.

Was he really thinking about being an omega again? Being Dean's? What if something happened at work like that before? Would Dean still treat him the same?

No. For a change, Sam's first priority was the alpha. He wanted to make Dean happy and even if he grinned and beared it, Sam knew for a fact that Dean didn't like the beta smell he wore. After getting a good smell of Sam's real scent the alpha couldn't be settled with the beta scent.

It was going to be difficult, but Sam wanted to do this, for Dean. And maybe, maybe his mind would see the positive side to being an omega that he had missed all these years. Maybe he could even be proud to be an omega again.


	34. Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. No time for spellcheck. Enjoy

“Samuel. I trust that my letter found you well.” 

Charlie raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was learning all sorts of things sitting in as Sam's second chair for this steamy divorce case. It wasn't typical for a lawyer at the firm to be allowed to represent a family member due to emotional interference but Charlie would allow Sam as long as she was there to monitor him and make sure he didn't get too worked up. 

One thing she found extremely fascinating was Sam's stepfather’s accent. He oddly reminded her of a certain wizard named Grindelwald from a certain book series she loved. And then there was the whole matter of Sam's family dynamic; his mother was an omega and his stepfather was an alpha but the records of his mother Mary’s previous marriage were sealed when she did some snooping.

Sam straightened his tie, consciously using the few inches of height he had on the alpha to size him up. “I got your message, what do you want to do about this situation…” Sam muttered flatly and the alpha’s lawyers (who were also alphas) gave the two inquisitive looks, as Charlie was. What were they mumbling about right before the hearing started?

“I want you to drop this fruitless venture on taking your mother away from me and I want you to do it now.”

Mary, who stood between Charlie and Sam, grabbed a hold of her son's suit jacket and leaned over him to glare at her soon to be ex husband “Ketch, if you have something to say, say it to me.” Sam sighed and pulled his mother back. It was nice to see that some of that fire was still around- maybe even returning- now that she wasn't getting abused every day.

“Mo- Mary, it my job to talk to your ex husband and his lawyers for you.” “What did he just say to you?” Mary demanded but her son just shook his head. “Nothing important.” 

Charlie thought back to the rushed rundown Sam had given her the day before with an uneasy mind. Something the beta had said was a little off but she couldn't remember what it was. Something about Sam's father…

The judge entered the courtroom and everyone stood as one of the present police officers, who had responded to the call from Mary the night of the stabbing, introduced the judge. 

That's when Charlie remembered. The odd thing Sam had said had been along the lines of; “My dad left my mom when I was one.” Alone, that sounded fine… but Charlie had been confused “Didn't you say Mary's former alpha left that same time? Was she uh, sleeping around?” That had to be it, right? “I don't know if he was actually my father or not-that's not important…” but, that alpha obviously wasn't Sam's father. Omegas with alpha's only have omegas and alphas… So, why did Sam even consider his mother's’ previous husband?

She looked passed Mary to Sam as the opposition made their opening remarks why this Ketch guy had the right to have two mates and why it was okay if he ‘disciplined’ his omega. This was not good. If what she thought what was going on was really going on, she would need to worry about a lot more than just if they could get a hefty settlement or some jail time for this asshole.

Sam caught the pale, uneasy look in Charlie’s face and wrote a quick note on the pad of paper they had amongst the documents at their bench. ‘What's wrong?’ It said. She quickly wrote back. ‘Are you lying about your gender?’

Sam's head shot up to her, horror and surprise and Charlie gave him a frustrated ‘dude, seriously?’ Expression in return.

“Prosecution, is something the matter?” Sam looked up to the annoyed judge then back to Charlie for a moment before standing. Shit, he could feel his nerves building, this couldn't be a worse time for his boss to find out. But he had to present his mother's case no matter what. He wasn't letting himself loose, especially not to nerves. “No, everything is alright, your honor.”

The short recess before closing statements came to a decision couldn't come soon enough. Sam clenched his trembling hands tightly as he made his way into the bathroom. His reflection was a wreck of nerves, he could just see it. Pushing back his hair he thought of the look Charlie had given him when he was leaving her and Mary in the hall. Of course his boss wanted to talk to him about hiding a required disclosure such as his second gender. He was going to get fired, he just hoped Charlie was nice enough to not report him.

“You lost your chance to redeem yourself, you filthy bitch.” A growl reverberate off the tile walls and shook Sam from his daze. In the mirror he could see his step father coming up on him in a fit of fury and turned around and ducked a punch “Do you really want to do this!? Now. In a courthouse? What is wrong with you!?” He backed away from Ketch, who was obviously in less of his right mind than normal.

“No one can take away what is rightfully mine! Especially a worthless- self centered bitch like you!” His heavy, anger fueled breaths were slowing down. Sam watched carefully at a safe distance as Ketch reigned in his sanity again and adjusted his suit “You have to understand, Samuel. You brought this on yourself by trying to be something that you are not.”

He left the bathroom and for several long moments Sam could only stand in fear, waiting for someone to walk through that door and tell him he's under arrest. But no one ever came. Sam had to get back out there, for his client- his mother.

“Dude, don't scare me like that! We have three minutes before closing statements.” His second chair and boss berated half heartedly. She looked at Mary, who was sitting as quiet and still as a statue, then back to Sam.

“I know what you are now, Sam. Don't try to pretend I'm dumb or something. Okay, yeah, I am technically your boss, but I'm also your friend so as your friend I one-hundred percent support your life choices. But as your boss, I'm kinda freaking out right now! Do you know what will happen if when we go back into that courtroom and your stepfather tells everyone what you really are?”

She stared expectantly at Sam but when no answer was forthcoming, she threw her her arms up in frustration “Because I have no idea but I think it isn't going to be pretty, Sam.”

When they reconvened a new wave of nerves and nausea hit Sam hard. This was it. He was going to jail, he would probably be claimed by some random prisoner and passed around as a fucktoy, he had heard so many awful things they do to omegas in jail. He wish he had at least called Dean before recess and apologized.

God, why did the idea of not seeing Dean again hurt so bad? Even he knew that was a stupid question at this point.

Charlie was feeling nerves as well as she saw Mr.Ketch lean over and whisper something in one of his lawyers ears. She was leafing through the laws on omegas in her head, trying to find an objection to what the other side was going to spin into a web of lies.

“Defense would like to bring up a matter of this case that has just been brought to light before closing statements.” One of the lawyers said as he stood. The judge looked annoyed but waved him on “Go ahead, but it better be relevant.”

“Our client, Mr.Ketch has just informed us that his stepson, the prosecutor on this case, Samuel Campbell, is a-” 

“Objection, the information they plan to tell the court is protected by the Thomas Hutson act of o-four along with having nothing to do with this case-”

“That act doesn't cover this and it is important to the case!-”

“Order in the court! Defense, prosecution, come up to the podium and tell me what this is about before you present this as evidence.”

Sam and Charlie came up to the judges high seated podium as well as the other two lawyers. Folding her hands, the judge leaned towards them and started in a softer voice, so as to not be heard by the rest of the court.

“Your honor, our client has been keeping this a secret for many years for Mrs.Ketch and her son's sake, but Mr.Campbell is an omega on heavy suppressants to illegally hide his statues.” 

That was the first thing to make the judge look surprised or even interested all day. She looked Sam over carefully as if she would be able to tell his statues just by looking but Sam looked nothing like an omega. If anything, he looked like an alpha.

“Mr.Campbell, do you confirm these accusations? Let me remind you, you are under oath.”

His heart was raising, hearing every word sound like static. If he wasn't careful now, he would pass out. Before Sam could answer Charlie butted in “And how is that information even relevant to this case?”

“He is forcing his mother to get this divorce so Ketch would be able to mark him as his mate. He's been after his stepfather’s money for years.” Sam almost laughed at that claim. It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. The judge seemed to think the same. “If that was the case, why would he be on suppressant? That seems to me to be a counterproductive move.”

She turned back to Sam, calculative look gleaming in her eye, some unspoken glee glimmering in them “Mr.Campbell, are these accusations true?”

Sam took a deep breath, feeling Charlie grab hold of his arm to keep him from falling over “I… I am an omega, but my reason for concealing is for protection not some half baked revenge scheme as the defense tries to portray.” “And you, Ms.Bradbury. You already knew that one of your lawyers was breaking the law by hiding his statues? Does your firm often break the law?”

“Well, I don't know what law you’ve been reading, sister” Sam felt a rock hit his stomach, what the hell did Charlie think she was doing speaking to a judge like that? “But businesses are allowed to employ anyone regardless of gender. He made it clear to the head of his branch, that's me, what he was. There is no law against not advertising to your coworkers that you are a single omega. It would be a complete mess if he was walking around without blocker-” 

“Then don't hire omegas.” One of the other lawyers spat and Charlie’s scent burned with anger “Um, excuse me, but Sa- Mr.Campbell is a better lawyer than you would ever hope to be so back off!”

The judge gave a sigh, rubbing at her temples. “Look. As you four probably know, an omega protection act is being decided upon at a national level this week-” “But-” the other lawyer tried to interject but the judge gave him a threatening look. “Let me finish. I reserve judgement regarding Mr.Campbell’s illegal concealment until after the protection act is decided upon. If it passes, then nothing is wrong with him concealing himself for protection, if it doesn't pass, however, There will be a warrant for your arrest and I'll be seeing you again sooner than you’d like Mr.Campbell.”

Speaking once more at a normal level, she shooed all four lawyers from her podium “The information given by the Defense is irrelevant to this case and so we will proceed with final statements.”

Sam felt terrified, on one hand, a judge was giving him a temporary stay-out-of-jail card but on the other, he was going to be thrown in jail if the supreme court decided to say that, no, the recent incline of rape and murders of omega's shouldn't allow omegas hide their genders from potentially dangerous alphas. But then there was also the odd jittery excitement filling his chest and making his hands ache. If it did get past, Dean and him…

They stood on the steps of the courthouse taking in the cold air. Mary shook Charlie’s hand animatedly before looking at her son with such an open and honest smile. She outstretched her hand for a handshake but thought better of it and pulled Sam down for a tight hug.

It was over. Ketch was out of their lives for good. Sam hugged his mother back tightly before she pulled back.

“Thank you so so much, Sam. I wouldn't have made it this far without you.” She gave his arm an affectionate squeeze and her smile faltered “I know I'm not the best mom but I'll try to be there for you more- we should go out to dinner tomorrow to celebrate.” Sam nodded, an infectious smile playing across his face. It was good to see that already she was doing better. 

There was still going to be pain, though. Her bond with Ketch would break slow and painfully but Sam intended to be there for her. She turned to head to her car but not before turning her head back and calling “And I don’t think for a second I forgot about the alpha you smell like. I wanna meet them.”

When his mother had reached the bottom of the stairs and started into the court parking lot, Sam turned to Charlie. She had her arms crossed over her chest and the sleeves of the awkward fitting suit jacket bunched up around her elbows but baggy on her shoulders. She looked upset, and maybe even mad.

He opened his mouth to say something, he wasn't sure what, but the alpha held up her hand to shut him down. “I get it. When you're doing something like hiding a huge part of who you are you don't want to tell people about that huge secret, even friends. But I can't help but be bothered by you not trusting me. I mean, you know I'm not into guys, omega or not. It's not like I would have jumped your bones.”

“I know that, It's not your fault, Charlie. I’m trying to work through this trust issue I have but every time I think I've gotten a little better, it suddenly blow up in my face.” “Well, it's gonna be a real shock to the higher ups that one of their best lawyers is an omega.” That made Sam snicker “That will be something, won't it?”


	35. The Next Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ so here’s a warning. Stuff happens in this chapter. Enjoy.

Dean was confused and just a little bit uneasy as well as hopelessly aroused.

Sam hadn't tried to get in contact with him for a good two days after his mother's   
divorce was granted and Ketch had paid her two million to compensate for the abuse charges. He hadn’t been locked up but at least he had returned to England to be with his new mate. It was fine with Dean, hell, he missed the crap out of his omega but he wouldn't get possessive, Sam probably didn't like that. Even if he wanted to. He wasn’t gonna lie though, sometimes the tiptoeing around Sam was outright frustrating.

Then, at four in the morning, Dean had gotten a text;

SAM: “I want to have sex.”

It took him a moment to process it. He was still a little drunk from earlier in the evening and swelling in his knot from his already started rut was making him grind his teeth. A moan rumbled out of Dean's throat and without much thought to it he started tugging at his shaft. 

What he wouldn't give to be with Sam right now. He was pretty sure he hadn't told his boyfriend that his rut was coming up. Cas had come by earlier to lock him into his bedroom and now his alpha wanted to kill Cas for barring him away from his omega.

Sam wanted him, his omega was laying in his bed thinking about having sex with him- texting him about his want that only Dean could quench. He had to get out- had to mate the omega- Dean took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead before responding.

Dean: “Cant Sam”  
Dean: “rut”  
Dean: “gotta stay away”

He dropped his phone on the bed and focused on sliding his hand roughly over his knot. A handjob from himself was all his knot ever got. He wondered how it would feel when he had it inside Sam. Filling him with streams of his cum, locked inside him for so long, unloading his pent up release. Sam would be moaning- crying for more and he would keep on filling him until Sam was pregnant- 

“Shit!” Dean tossed his head back into his pillow as his orgasim ripped through him. Unsatisfactory. His knot hadn't gone down, which was beyond frustrating but he could actually think properly for the time being. He couldn't see the mess in his hand but he could feel it and it made him wrinkle his nose before wiping it on the bed sheets. Wow, what kinda fucked up thoughts was he getting his rocks off to? Sam pregnant? What the hell? Guess his alpha liked the idea- a little too much.

Sam had text him back at some point during the alpha's fantasy fueled orgasim. 

SAM: “I don't care. I’m off my medication and I just need you to be hervgthj” 

It was as if Dean's mind went completely blank on him. There was nothing going on upstairs besides the roar of want and must have from his alpha. Sam, sam. Motherfucker. This was- shit. Sam!

He got up, some vague senses still working correctly telling him he needed pants despite how uncomfortable they would be with a raging hard on. Then there was the double bolted door to deal with, he growled in annoyance before kicking it as hard as he could, it cracked but didn't break so he did it again, and again, and again.

Finally, the door gave and broke off its hinges. He grabbed up his car keys from the living room and was out of there in under two minutes. Leather jacket slid over his bare chest.

He was clouded with lust, driven insane by Sam's consent to be his. Not even hesitating to wonder why Sam had changed his mind. Not wondering if something might have happened, that maybe things were escalating too fast. Those thoughts would come much much later. Dean parked haphazardly in the parking structure and walked quickly, taking the stairs up to Sam's apartment. He didn't care if the neighbors could smell his lust filling the air, he didn't even care if he woke them up when he banged on his omega's door. Something primal that hadn't been let free his whole life was seeping through the cracks and what little rationale thought he had left wouldn't be able to stop the alpha from taking Sammy.

The door came open with a quick yank and a red faced Sam stood in the doorway. His eyes were wide, lips parted as pants escaped him. He looked like something straight out of a wet dream. Dean's alpha almost purred at the absence of the beta blocker. The concentration of Sam's scent was overpowering his own and he loved it. Wanted wrap his whole being up in that truely Sam smell. Ripe, heady, delicious with just a hint of spice. Loved it so much that he shoved Sam backwards into the apartment and closed the door behind him so no one else could have it. There was little else that one bit of logic left was capable of.

It was no more than a small gasp from Sam before they both were smashing their lips together. Teeth snagged on lips that moved frantic, as if they would die unless they tasted and mapped out each other's mouths. Mad men on a mission to not only take but wreck each other. Dean's hands were ripping at Sam's shirt as he backed Sam up. There needed to be a lot less clothed and a lot more in Sam's nest.

“Dean...” it was no more than a breath between kisses but it had Dean moaning. Sam pushed the door to his bedroom open and they groaned in harmony when they reached the bed. 

The alpha inside him was too pumped, too ready to just take what was his. That was right, this omega reaching to pull him down on top of him was his. No one else would have him like this. It was really hazy in his mind, his knot practically turning purple from how big it had swelled at the base of his cock.

Dean kissed at Sam's exposed neck as he started tugging Sam’s briefs down for him.

“Ah, it's been so long since I could feel, so much. Your scent is driving me crazy, De- ah, fuck!” Dean bit just above his scent gland. It was heavenly, no blockers in the way and the purring that Sam was emitting was the best thing he had ever heard. Maybe there was a god after all. Or maybe Sam had come from some kind otherworldly place. How else could someone be this perfect? His thoughts were really all over the place.

They really shouldn't be rushing through the movement, relying on instinctual desires to get them into the next stage of their relationship. But at the time it made all the sense in the world to be like this. 

Sam's plain white sleep shirt was thrown to the floor after Dean briefly wrestled it off him. The bare body underneath him withered, arched up seeking his touch, only for him. Dean went back to biting and kissing Sam's jaw. His teeth ached to mark the omega right then but it wasn't the time yet.

The expanse of well toned, tan chest had Dean groaning. To most alpha's, the idea of an omega- even a beta partner- being not soft was a turnoff but not for Dean. His Sammy was hot as hell and the reality that he could touch and taste and hear everything this… this otherworldly creature had to offer was beyond belief.

Hands ripped at the alpha's short hair greedily but Sam broke away from the sloppy kiss as Dean rutted his concealed hardon roughly into his. The jean digging into his exposed member in a sinfully agonizing way. 

“P-pants…” Sam managed to get out. If Dean continued the way he was right now, he was positive he would cum before they really even got started.

In a half delusional mind, Sam was aware that slick was starting to soak through the the sheets and run down his quivering thighs. No doubt his sudden smart idea to abruptly stop the heat blockers and all the other shit he was on earlier would end up with his first heat in ten years being triggered. Dean's scent thick with the musk of rut was in no way helping Sam control himself.

“Mm, Sammy you really shouldn't have hidden this body from me.” Vibrating excitement under his skin. The alpha leaned down to capture one of the hardened nipples between his teeth while he tossed his jacket to the side and was elated to hear the shaky inhale of breath from the other. He bit and sucked while one of his hands went to his own pants and started tugging them down. 

There was relief after being freed from the confines of his pants. The hot heat of pent up released engorging his member. Angry red and standing at attention. Omega pheromones drawing out the demon inside him, the predator that wanted to dominate and claim this delicious omega.

Sam could feel Dean rubbing his cock into his slick drenched ass. The alpha released Sam's abused nipples and sat up a bit. The omega's legs were hanging wide open and he was rutting against his ass like he would die if he didn’t. If he wasn't so desperately in need of Sam, his hot, beautiful, omega, he would take a moment to tell Sam everything that he was doing to Dean that was driving him crazy. Things normally muted between them now amplified. This was the omega part of Sam, the one he had been trying so hard to get to.

“De-an! Alpha, alpha! Please!” Sam all but screamed as he thrusted his hips into Dean's. It didn't matter to be decent right now. His alpha wanted Sam now and that was it. He tore Sam's legs further apart exposing his entrance and the air around them suddenly was filled with a strong scent akin to hot honey, scolding hot honey. Sam's slick was all over his inner thighs and trembling entrance. His smooth cock was now fully pressed against his stomach, twitching in excitement and red from the harsh rutting. His lips whispering his name over and over, calling out to the alpha from beyond sanity, a personal heaven he was begging Dean to take him to. It was breathtaking.

“Gonna make you mine, omega. Gonna breed you so good” The alpha rumbled out and Sam groaned in response. There wasn't much hesitation but it was not rushed. Even in this state of delirium Dean had the sense to remember not hurting Sam was a priority. In one fluent movement, the alpha yanked Sam's hips up by his legs. Tossing either tan limb over his shoulder. The omega grunted as he now only had his shoulders and neck to support the weight of his body, but before he could complain Dean took full advantage of the new position. Sam choked on a cry when Dean pulled apart the mounds of his ass and drove his tongue down to his clenching entrance to lap at his slick.

It was too much and yet not enough. Sam's thighs were shaking from the strain and with each new movement a new groan would escape the both of them. Dean seemed to know just what to do to drive Sam crazy. When the alpha's tongue suddenly pushed into the pucker of his entrance it was the end of Sam. He cam with an odd grunt scream mix.

Dean pulled back and kissed Sam's entrance then looked down at the blissed out expression Sam’s face with a grin of his own.

It was almost comical to Sam the way his alpha looked so ecstatic to have the whole bottom half of his face glistening with slick. But mostly it was embarrassing, he had cum on nothing more than the alpha's tongue.

“You have no idea how hot you look right now, omega… Sammy.” Dean cooed but that only made Sam even more embarrassed. The release had offered him a brief moment of clarity to take in what kind of situation he was in. he tried to cover his face with his arm but the alpha growled so that was a no no. He pulled his arm away reluctantly and a small whimper was building in his throat, something like this, being so weak and vulnerable usually scared him or even made him uncomfortable but not with Dean. He wanted Dean to do what an alpha was suppose to do; love him and take good care of him. Something like primal need was taking over. Something that he had hated and feared but now couldn't stop himself from wanting to get lost in.

Dean took a moment to completely take off his pants that had been hanging from his knees, which also gave Sam time to lower his hips back down to the bed. He tentatively experimented by rubbing his ass down onto Dean’ thigh and his efforts were rewarded with grunt of pleasure. The alpha yanked Sam’s legs to part for him to slide in between. He wasn't even aware that his grip on Sam's thigh would leave bruises.

He rutted his painfully hard member through Sam's slick and up to rub against the omega's twitching shaft. They groaned at the electric heat the friction brought them. Sam sat up as much as he could and pulled Dean's lips to his by a rough tug to the nap of the latter’s neck. The taste of his own slick on Dean’s tongue driving him crazy. 

But the rutting wasn't enough at all. If they wanted any relief from the building fire in the cores of their being they would need to take this a step further.

Sam flinched away slightly when one of Dean's hands left his thighs to rub at his burning entrance with three fingers. Fear coursed through his veins faster than he could handle. The impact of the fear was like a sudden awakening of all the worries and doubts he had had over the years at once. A monster of terror at the very idea an alpha was this close- touching him this much. No, no that didn’t matter. It wasn’t just Sam's omega that wanted this alpha that took care of him so well. But all of Sam. Dean was different, special.

It was irrational for him to be getting scared. Dean pulled away from the messy kiss and rubbed his face soothingly into Sam's scent glad that reeked of fear. Though he himself was completely checked out and instincts had taken over, his alpha hated the idea that his omega was scared of him. The affectionate scenting seemed to bring Sam some comfort so he started coating his fingers in Sam's slick again. There was another flinch at the sensation but the fear was simmering down into a cinnamon musk of giddy nervousness.

A grunt escaped the alpha as he struggled to pull Sam's arm off his neck so he could lay the latter down but he managed. The fingers massaging Sam’s entrance changed angle and there was a moment of sheer panic when all three dove into him but the panic was replaced with surprise and immense pleasure when the tight ring of muscles slid easily over Dean's slicked up fingers. Though, there was just the slightest pinch.

He worked his fingers nimbly through the soft heat of Sam. Goddamn, Dean was relishing in how good the omega felt around him and his knot pulse painfully at the base of his cock. He worked Sam open, pumping his fingers in and out at a hard and fast pace. Scissoring his digits earned him a groan and more slick every time.

“Dean! Oh shit- ah! I want you to- ahfuckin!” Sam struggled to get out but tears were fogging up his vision from the intense and all consuming pleasures between his thighs. He had expected sex to feel good but not this good. He wasn't ready for this much, his mind was turning to mush and that part of him he so desperately tried to hide was taking over.

“Tell me what you want, omega.” Dean rumbled out of a voice nearly unrecognizable. Sam moaned at the realization that this was Dean's alpha voice and started to push himself down to meet his finger.

“Please, alpha, make me yours, I want you to have me! I love you, I love yo-” he was starting to sob when Dean abruptly removed his fingers. His entrance constricted, trying to grab onto something that wasn't there, but then Dean was kissing him. It was sloppy and mostly tongue and teeth but it was hot and just what Sam needed at the moment.

The bed made a horrible squeaking sound as Dean dug his knees into it and he readjusted himself. He pumped his cock a few times, slathering the slick his fingers had collected all over it. Then he looked at Sam laid out below him. His legs spread wide and a hopelessly turned on flush on his angular face. He put the hand that was not lathering himself up on Sam's chest and felt the heat of his skin, the erratic breathing, and the speed of his heartbeat. He dug his blunt nails into the flesh, breaking the skin but not drawing blood “Mine.”

There was no pause. The alpha guiding himself to Sam's entrance and pushed his way in. It was slow coming. Dean was much thicker than three finger and the stretch was bordering on painful but once the head of his cock had popped through it was as if a shockwave erupted from where they were becoming one and rebounded throughout the universe. The alpha must have felt it too because he paused and looked up at Sam in surprise. 

Suddenly this whole thing felt… like something more. Meant to happen- destined to happen. A pivoting point had just occurred, a drastic change in a different direction. They could understand it now, it was all so crystal fucking clear but it didn’t make any sense just the same.

Breaking from the temporary haze, Dean lowered himself, supporting his torso with his arm on either side of Sam's neck. He watched the omega as he fed his meat into him- watched as he let out little puffs of gasps, as he refocused his eyes and met Dean's. 

They didn't look away from each other. When Dean settled in all the way they both groaned, Sam loved the drag of Dean's member over his insides as he started to pull back. It felt right. Heat, sinfully amazing fullness. The alpha had waited for Sammy two and a half months. Now that Sam reeked of an omega starting their heat soon and he himself barely able to survive with his knot and balls so inflamed he let out a long moan and started to thrust into Sam at a brutally fast pace. He couldn’t help himself.

The bed frame screeched in protest with every thrust of Dean's hips but the two of them were oblivious to it. The alpha was pounding him in just the right way, Sam pulled Dean's face to his and tried to kiss him but their lips only smeared past each other ever so often as the thrusts had Sam bouncing against the ferocity of his alpha. Breathing in each other’s harsh breaths.

“Faster! Oh god please!” Dean complied to the needy cry and pushed into Sam at bruising velocity. He wanted to find that spot inside his Sammy that would have him melting but he couldn't get deep enough from that angle.

Dean pulled out almost all the way but couldn't bring himself to leave his omega all the way and turned Sam around to lay on his stomach. Noticing for the first time the blood on the sheets. The omega’s innocence was his now and forever. He was surprised when Sam automatically brought his legs up to present his slick dripping hole, the head of Dean's erection sitting in him beautifully. 

This time when Dean thrusted into him, Sam pushed himself back to meet it. The alpha hunched over his back, plunging in hard and fast. Dean was close, so very close to losing it. He mouthed at Sam's exposed scent gland, wanting to bite now- claim now but not quite there yet. 

Sam suddenly arched his back let out a strangled cry of pleasure and the alpha knew he had hit Sam's sweet spot. He rammed himself into that same spot over and over as one of his hands snuck around Sam and grabbed hold of his weeping member. 

Over stimulated, Sam couldn't catch his breath as a high pitch moan was ripped out of him and he reached his climax. “Dean!” The alpha roared inhumanely and pounded into Sam so hard, the omega had to hold onto the headboard to keep himself from falling over. A scream ripped brokenly out of the omega’s throat by the sheer force of Dean as he dug his teeth into Sam's bared neck, marking him, claiming him. Sam was his and he wanted everyone to know it. Finally, the harsh pounding paid off and the alpha forced his knot past Sam's tight ring of muscles with a deafening squelch as slick poured out of Sam, his body’s last ditch attempt to make the pain dull.

An explosion of senses came over both of them. The heat of Dean's seed filling him like a rushing river of feelings, Sam clenching around the knot. Nerves all a lite, burning, tingling. A trip out of his body, like the very action of their lovemaking had sent his souls tumbling out of his vessel. He wasn’t himself, but he was. This was Dean, this was them, together. They could feel each other in a way they couldn't before. Sam was staring at Dean over his shoulder but he could see himself through Dean, his skin was radiating light like some ethereal being. Was this what his alpha really saw him like? It made him want to cry both out of happiness and embarrassment. He wondered what Dean would see through him but judging by the big shit eating grin on his face it was something he liked.

The double sight slowly faded but they could still feel the touch of each other in their minds. Sam was starting to understand what it meant when people and textbooks referred to bonding as the merging of two souls.

Dean groaned as he laid them on their sides, tugging on his still inflated knot inside Sam in the process. The omega shivered at the feeling and wondered when Dean's knot would deflate.

They laid there for a couple of minutes in a tangle of limbs with Dean's fingers in his mate’s sweaty mop of hair as his licked up the blood he had drawn from the bond mark and placed feather light kisses all over the sensitive mark in apology. The air reeked of sex and despite the cold of winter’s approach, the room was as hot and as hazy as a mid July evening.

“I love you Dean.” Sam finally broke the silence with a hoarse whisper and Dean smiled into Sam's sun kissed shoulder “I love you too, Sammy. I'll always love you, baby.”

They both drifted off to sleep soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reckless, but needfully so. More to come so look forward to it.


	36. Staples

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the late update. Life and stuff happens sometimes so... anywho. This chapter and the next chapter are fairly short Cas POVs so I shall post them both right now so the next update will be back to Sam and Dean. Okay?
> 
> Enjoy~

Castiel was worried. He stared at his phone’s lock screen where it laid on the desk of his cubicle. Dean and him had an arrangement when it came to the alpha's rut. First, Castiel would lock Dean in his room with a good supply of water (no food, the alpha refused to eat when he was in his rut), then, Cas would check in everyday with a text to make sure his friend was still okay knowing that a few times Dean had passed out from not drinking enough water.

Well, Dean had yet to answer his text of ‘Are you ok?’ And it was the middle day of his rut which always seemed to be the worst. Maybe he would go check on him during his lunch. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. 

Kevin poked his head into Castiel's cubicle before rolling his chair over with a stack of papers stapled together. The older beta sighed under his breath at the sight of the staples. He had told Kevin over a dozen times not to staple spreadsheets together and to just put a paperclip in the stack but for some reason this kid just couldn't seem to remember.

“Here's those spreadsheets from earlier.” He thought about saying something to Kevin about the little strip of metal shining in the top corner of stack but thought better of it. Kevin may be horrible when it came to listening to instructions but he was excellent at numbers and projections which ultimately cut his own workload in half.

“Thanks.” He took the offered stack and tried to focus the the spreads but couldn't when he noticed that Kevin had yet to roll his set back into his own cubicle. “What else do you need, Kevin?”

“Is it true you're banging Crowley?”

“And why on earth would you think that?”

The younger beta shrugged “Rumor has it you two were bumping drumsticks in his office after hours and one of the I.T guys who forgot something at the office heard it loud and clear.”

Castiel sighed as he undid the staples right in front of Kevin “This is highly inappropriate work banter. I don't care what Crowley ‘bangs’ in his office.”

“I didn't mean to step on any toes, I just think the timing of you getting that bond mark that the alphas say makes you smell like Crowley and Crowley actually getting laid is pretty tellin-”

“It's none of your beeswax, so why don't you back off.” A threatening growl sounded behind them causing Kevin to jump.

Crowley stood with one hand tucked into his black suit pants and a devilishly wicked smile. 

“Mr.Novak, I want you in my office. Now.” 

With that, the alpha turned and left. Kevin gave Castiel an eyebrow wiggle to which he got an eye roll from the older beta. Castiel set the spreadsheets aside and stood.

“Good luck!” Kevin called cheekily in his wake. He was not looking forward to this conversation with Crowley.

That of course, was assuming this meeting was actually going to involve talking. Somehow, he had a feeling that wasn’t what his boss wanted.


	37. Confusion

Castiel was berating himself the whole ride from work. The moment he entered the office that belonged to his boss, he should have left.

For the first two minutes they had bickered. Castiel wanted Crowley to know how much he regretted what they did- Crowley had gone on and on about how Castiel was his. Of course, they had been talking overtop of each other, getting in each other's faces, and then Castiel had surprised them both when he initiated the intense make out which led to yanking and ripping clothing… 

Then of course they had been fighting when Castiel got cum on the alpha's expensive suit. The beta’s ass was raw and sitting was uncomfortable and he really didn't understand how this couldn've happened again or why his boss took such immense satisfaction in slapping his ass- why did fighting with Crowley get him so aroused? 

Right.

Driving.

He checked his phone to see if Dean had answered after all but no dice. No doubt Dean had passed out.

He walked up to alpha's apartment with his head full of other things. For one, he was replaying his fight with Crowley over in his head trying to figure out what was said that led them to having sex against the door to the alpha’s office but he was coming up empty.

Then he went to unlock Dean's apartment with the key his friend had given him but was surprised to find it unlock. Had he forgotten to lock it? Castiel pushed the door open and froze.

It looked to him like a break in, besides the mess that usually covered the floor, there was smashed glass of where Dean's tower of Jack Daniel's bottles once stood, an ottoman was kicked over and the entryway closets contents were all over the floor. 

Taking a tentative step inside, Castiel called worriedly “Dean?” There was no response. He made his way further in still, trying to piece together how this had happened. If it was that he had really forgotten to lock the door and someone broke in, Dean was going to be pissed.

Then he saw the state of Dean's bedroom door and a huge rock that had been lodged in his chest dropped to his stomach. Even as a beta he could scent the alpha's lust in the room and he didn't dare go in, especially smelling of Crowley but he could see his friend’s phone laying on his bed.

“Dean, what did you do…” he mumbled looking over the damage. He would have to pay his landlord for the busted door no doubt, but where had he gone? Did he drive in that state? Castiel was getting anxious now, but then an idea came to mind and he quickly pulled out his phone.


	38. Waking Up to You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too tired for the spellcheck. Here ya go.

Sam groaned and turned away from the sunlight. Too bright, too soon. He was slowly becoming aware of the burn in his lower back and horrible feeling of cum dried on his stomach and face. The night before had been pretty hazy. 

He knew that about an hour after the first round they had both woken up to the lovely surprise of Sam's first heat in ten years kicking in full force. They had gone two more rounds and slept for another hour, woke up way too out of it to fuck properly so Sam had settled for a sixtynine in which Dean ate his ass out and he gave his alpha an awkward attempt at a blowjob. Dean seemed to like it though. 

They had slept from nine to six with only the disruption of the call of nature. The sun was setting now and Sam cursed the last rays of light seeping through the blinds for waking him up and peeked one eye open. Dean's face was mere inches from his. Sam smiled at how dumb his mate looked with half his face smushed into the bed, his mouth parted and a trail of drool dried to his densely subtly chin and a chainsaw snore… or maybe that was slick. It was hard to tell.

“And I found that face attractive?” Sam teased and the alpha's snoring sputtered and a half asleep voice mumbled out from Dean's lips “Damn straight.” Sam chuckled and studied the closed eyelids of his mate, taking note of how long his eyelashes were.

“Dean, are you awake?”

“No, this is a prerecorded message.” The alpha grunted then turned onto his back “Go back to sleep, Sammy.”

But Sam didn't need anymore sleep, in fact, his body was asking for something else. He bit his lip and sat up even as he back screamed to stop.

“Dean.” He tried again but the alpha didn't respond so Sam took matters into his own hands. 

Dean felt the bed shift then a weight settle on his stomach and he groaned because Sam was just a little too heavy to not be crushing his diaphragm and also because he could feel the slick covering the cleft of his omega's ass pressed into his stomach.

“Shit… you sure are one horney son of a bitch, you know that, Sammy?” The alpha teased as he opened his eyes to see the omega starting to pant and rut against him. 

“I’m, I… not usually like this, alpha, the heat hurts. Dean, please.”

Dean sighed and kissed the nearest piece of Sam he could reach (which was his forearm) “Yeah, I know, Sammy. I'll take care of you, baby.” A sense of pride filled Dean being able to say that. He would be there for Sam forever, the swollen bite mark on Sam's neck was proof of that.

Sam was guided backwards onto Dean's erect member and they both sighed contently when it slipped in with ease. The omega wiggled experimentally and Dean grabbed hold of his hip immediately to stop him “Don't move for a second.” 

He’d never admit it to save both of them the embarrassment but Sam's blowjob had left Dean jr. just a tad raw. It had felt so good at the time to have the omega scrape his teeth over him like that but now… now he had some regrets.

Sam was staring down at him, irritated. Dean slowly thrusted up into Sam and they both moaned because no matter how much they did this or how raw they got, it was an amazing feeling to be this close.

Sam planted his hands firmly on Dean's chest and lifted himself only to let gravity impale him on his mate once more.

They sped up and Dean had to fight the urge to flip their positions, to dominate Sam, thrust into him ruthlessly like his alpha wanted to. He liked this view of Sam and he could tell the latter liked being in charge of the angle for once.

Soon enough, Dean tugged Sam into climax and knotted him.

The omega leaned down and captured his alpha in a chest kiss. Sam was getting a lot better at kissing and Dean's lips tingled after every one.

Sam's phone started ringing from the nightstand and they pulled apart and smiled at each other. The room was getting dark as night settled in. They were both vaguely aware that their guts were eating themselves from lack of food but they couldn't be bothered.

The phone finished ringing and Sam cuddled up into Dean's neck and sighed at the feeling of his mate's cum filling him yet again.

The phone rang again and Dean growled angrily “Just ignore it.” Sam mumbled against his ear and they waited for the ringing migraine to stop.

The phone rang yet again and this time Dean grabbed it up. He was tired and pissed and who the hell was even calling Sam so much. He was about to shut Sam's phone down but then the name lit up on the screen rang a bell.

“It's Cas.”  
Sam grunted “I’ll call him back later.”  
Dean stared at the name and thought about how he hadn't sent his customary ‘Im not dead’ text… he thought about what he had done to his bedroom door to get to his Sammy.

“I think I should talk to him.”   
Sam sat up, putting more pressure on his knot and looked Dean over incredulously “Not right now.”  
Dean gave a sheepish grin and answered the phone

“Hey, Cas.”  
Sam hit him in the shoulder and he mouthed an ‘ow’ at him. Sam’s anger and embarrassment permeating the room with the scent of burnt leather and bitter bubblegum. Definitely not a pleasant mixture. 

[Dean, thank goodness. I am at your apartment and your door is broken and there's glass. I thought something bad had happened.]

“No, um. I’m fine, okay?”

[I had a feeling you would be with Sam.] Dean could just hear the smugness in his friend's voice and was about to say something smug back when Sam tried to pull away from his knot send shooting pain through his mate’s dick on purpose. 

“Yeah, okay, gotta go bye.” He hung up and pulled Sam back into his lap who growled threateningly. A growl of his own coming out without much thought except that his alpha didn't like getting growled at.

Dean sighed after a moment of them both growling at each other ridiculously and pulled his mate down to plant a kiss on Sam's cheek apologetically “Look, Cas would've called the cops or something if he didn't hear back from me. I won't ever answer the phone- or the door while I'm tied to you again, okay?” 

Sam tried to keep a straight face but Dean was making faces at him and he soon broke out into a reluctant smile.

A good twenty minutes later they unknotted and Sam decided to take a shower. Dean laid in Sam's bed, loving the way what had once just been Sam's nest had become their nest. He could hear the hot water crank on and felt so content with this domestic feeling. More content than he had ever expected. Hadn’t there been a time not so long ago when the idea of domestic partnership had given him the chills? Well, that had certainly changed.

He still wished that he had taken Sam for the first time without his rut dictating his actions. But the end result of the night before was just dandy. They were mated. As much as he didn’t want to see it go, he gathered up the sheets with blood and cum and slick and carried them 

He got up and wandered out of the bedroom to scavenge through Sam's fridge. Dean stopped in the hallway before the opening of the kitchen and living room. 

The smell of Sam's blocker was drenching the air and Dean scrunched up his nose. It wasn't a bad smell but it wasn't a Sam smell either and it just felt wrong now. He wandered into the kitchen and stopped again. 

This time it wasn’t just the smell that was bothering him. All Sam's pill bottles and needles were scattered by the sink. It looked as if Sam had been in a hurry to get rid of all his pills. The sink was clogged and a white film of dissolved piles floated on the surface of the water. He stared at the scene for a moment longer before turning to the fridge to steal one of the yogurts he saw in there last time but found the fridge completely empty.

“Okay, something's up here.” He mumbled and went out to the living room. Everything looked fine in there. The flower bud in the pot had died but that was probably from winter. He went back into the kitchen and noticed a pad of yellow lined paper on the floor. Lots of harsh scribbling to cover words but of the words he could make out ‘Tell mom’ ‘you wouldn't want’ and the very end ‘goodbye Dean’

“What the fuck is this garbage?” He growled at the empty room. Was this what it sure as hell sounded like? Why? Sam had seemed happy, had he been reading him all wrong? What was happening? He felt heat building behind his eyes but willed it away. What should he do? 

“Sammy!” He called and heard a muffled voice from the bathroom. He stomped down the hall and yanked the unlocked door open to Sam in a towel shaving his face. The omega looked at him in the mirror. He could scent and anger on the alpha so Sam sat down the razor and turned to Dean with knitted eyebrows. 

“What's wro-”

“What's wrong with you? Huh?”

Sam's eyes widened and he cocked his head to expose his neck meekly to the angry alpha. Dean caught sight of the fresh bond mark and calmed himself as best as he could. But he was pissed off and utterly confused. He took a deep breath to calm down. He had to remind himself that he didn't want to scare Sammy. “Look,” he started, much calmer and Sam ventured to look up at him.

“Just tell me why you wrote this and why you were cleaning shop in the the kitchen. Are you…” but he couldn't bring himself to even voice his thoughts so he just handed Sam the notepad. The omega took one look at it and understood what it was.

“Dean, something’s happened and I…” he let out a deep breath and leaned back against the sink. “It's not what you think, just give me a second to get dressed.” Dean nodded dumbly because hell, if it wasn't what he thought he had no idea what was going on. Sam gave him a gentle shove and added “You could at least put some underwear on, Dean.” Before closing the bathroom door.

When Sam came to the kitchen he was dressed in an illegible band t shirt that was too baggy and smelled of dust and omega. Dean assumed the same went for the faded jeans and that they had both been sitting in the back of some drawer of clothes from when he had publicly been an omega but instead of throwing them away he had kept them, probably too precious to throw away.

The omega looked at the state of his kitchen then back at Dean who had his arms crossed over his chest expectantly. Sam let out a sigh.

“In the trail… Ketch used my concealment against me. But the judge ruled it irrelevant to the case.”

“Isn't that a good thing?”

“Well, yeah, at the time it was a good thing. But the only reason I'm not serving three to five is because some people in DC are pushing for concealment to be legalized as a form of protection and state governments are in a grey area as to what to do until the decision is made.”

Dean was about to interject again but Sam went on “it sounds like a good thing but they’ve tried to pass things like this before. If this doesn't go through, I’ll go to jail, Dean.”

The air about them was heavy and Sam gestured halfheartedly at the mess in the kitchen. “I was freaking out. I thought I was going to jail so I wrote a goodbye letter and threw away all the food in my fridge and while I was at it I decided to toss out all my medication. Thought maybe I’d make a run for it? I uh… was real low at that point.”

“And then you booty called me? I mean, what the hell, Sam? Why didn't you just tell me what was going on?”

Sam sunk into the kitchen table chair and ran a hand compulsively through his hair. A hazy thought that wasn't his came to his mind ‘Why didn't you trust me?’ And now his omega was seeking out his alpha for comfort subconsciously. “I trusted you I just didn't want to put all my garbage on you.”

Dean kneeled down next to Sam “Dude, I'm your freakin mate now. Dump all your garbage on me, it's my job to be there for you.”

Sam offered a weak smile and looked away in embarrassment when tears started pouring out of his eyes without his permission. 

The sight made Dean's heart clench painfully and he wondered if Sam had ever had someone who he could talk to about everything but he guessed that he didn't. He stood up and pulled Sam into a tight hug. Ignoring his protests of saying that he was fine and letting the omega cry as hard and as long as he needed.


	39. The Verdic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello~ another chapter! Enjoy

Sam's heat had lasted a full six days before finally breaking. He had called Charlie and told her he had some medical issues come up but that he would work on the cases paperwork at home. She understood what he meant and told him to “Just shut up and get laid.” Before hanging up on him.

Dean hadn't been so lucky. Benny didn't like the idea of Dean abruptly taking five days off especially right after his three day rut. Two things that he was coming to learn about his Cajun friend was that he was all fine with a buddy having a one night stand every week but if you were in a relationship he’d just ‘bout spit on you if he caught you cheatin and the other thing was he sure as hell hated short term notice sick call-ins, especially when he had the mind to think you were using that time to do some cheatin.

So Dean would fill Sam with his knot in the morning, take a boiling hot shower and reluctantly scrub his mates scent from his skin and go to work for eight hours. It was not easy leaving Sam, during work he would sometimes feel his omega yanking on their bond, crying out in desperate sobs for Dean to take the insistent burning away but he would have to ignore it. When he went back to Sam's he would shower him in apologetic kisses and make love to him as many times it took for his heat to be temporarily stated.

And then there was Cas, he’d asked to hang out, have lunch or something but Dean had told him to try him the next week. Then of course he had asked Dean why Sam wasn't answering his phone and so he had made up some bullshit story about him being out of town. By the end of the week, Dean was exhausted and Sam had such a bad cramp in his lower back that he had asked Dean to cut off his legs to relieve some of the pressure.

Dean took anything like that from Sam with a grain of salt during his more delusional phases.

Sometimes, between bursts of heat, Sam would turn inwardly on the bad thoughts. The first time Dean hadn’t been prepared when his mate started having a full on panic attack about his omega scent being all over the place. He had tried to calm Sam down but Dean had never dealt with something like this. He was afraid of the way the omega’s breathing was coming in so jagged.

He had eventually calmed Sam down with the mixture of his own scent sending off waves of protective pheromones and gentle stroking Sam’s hair while promising that the omega scent in the air was okay.

He repeated this every time it happened. Dean was relieved to notice that after the first three days, the panic attacks seemed to stop. The alpha hoped that meant that his mate was getting use to smelling like an omega again. Baby steps.

They had avoided watching the news until Sam’s heat was over so that if this was the last time they had with each other than they could enjoy each other. Now that Sam’s heat was over they had to see what the verdict was. 

Dean had searched it on his phone and it had said that it was unanimously against passing the omega protection act and the mood between them had plummeted. The living rooms emptiness amplifying the hollow feeling saturating their bond. There would be Officers at the door pounding and yelling about having a warrant for him. Dean was already thinking how he’d sneak Sam out of Kansas.

It had been a dark few minutes. Sam had silently started to let tears slide down his face as his mate went on about how everything was going to be okay when they both knew it really wasn’t.

That’s when Sam had taken Dean’s phone to read the news story himself and saw the article was published four years ago. Sam couldn’t even bring himself to shoot his mate an angry look, his heart was racing as he searched for the results for this week. “Oh my god.” Sam breathed in pure and utter relief. The bill had skidded into being law by three measly votes over the required amount.

Sam had melted into the couch much like a boneless being as he thought about what this meant. Dean was just glad that his mate wasn't going to jail and Sam was as well… they had shared a passionate kiss full of smiles. Sam blamed the tears still streaming from his eyes on his yet to properly adjust hormones after his heat. Then he realized there was a major question he needed to think over seriously. Would he go back on his medication now that it was legal or would he be himself beyond just with Dean but with everyone?

It was a scary thought that he would need to figure out the answer to before he went to work the next day. Dean had promised him dinner if he wasn't a wanted fugitive so he would let himself deal with one hurdle at a time and tucked that decision away in his pocket for later. Sam had been terrified to leave his apartment without blocker but Dean had told him to stop being such a bitch about it and threw his jacket over Sam's shoulders to mask his omega scent more. That seemed to have help a bit.

Dean took Sam to a junky little diner on the very edge of Lawrence where they were less likely to run into anyone they knew. Sam appreciated Dean's foresight. There weren't many people in when they showed up but those who were, looked up at them when they came inside. They were staring at Sam as if he was an extinct animal. His scent was still very potent because it had been hidden away so long and he worried if it was bothering others that he was scenting up the place.

They were seated in a corner booth and given menus by an older woman waitress. She reminded Sam a bit of his mom when she had worked in a diner. But he supposed, now that his mother had two million dollars (with a 20% fee from his law firm taken out) she wouldn’t be going back to that job.

Sam tried to focus on the menu but he could practically hear the people around them staring. Dean squeezed his mate’s leg comfortingly when he noticed Sam wasn't even reading his menu. “Don't worry bout them, Sammy.” He had thought Dean had said that out loud but he realized that his alpha had sent him a soothing feeling through their bond and Sam grinned across the table at Dean.

“Okay, I think we should, you know, actually talk.” Sam laughed when Dean looked disappointed but the alpha shrugged it off “Fine, I want you to meet my uncle.” It was so abrupt that Sam didn't register it for a second but when he did he raised an eyebrow. 

“Uh, okay, sure? That came out of nowhere.” Dean shrugged again as his eyes remained in the menu and Sam inwardly sighed because he had a feeling he was somehow going to regret saying it “I um, think you should meet my mom. I'm sure you’d love her pies.”

“Wanna get married?”

Sam sat there for a moment then gave the alpha an irritated glare “Dean, what are you trying? Are you just saying things or what.” He held up his hands up in defense “Hey, I'm not just saying things, I'm trying to learn what you want.”

“Well, what about you, then? Do you want to marry me, Dean?”  
The alpha made an unsure expression then explained “I'm gonna say yes but also no- I'm not big on weddings.” That made sense, Sam flag down the waitress as he bluntly stated “I don’t really see the point for a paper bond on top of a real one, but if you wanna, let’s just sign the papers then.”

Dean raised his water to his lips but paused when a grin spreads across his face “Ever the romantic.” And the subject died away smoothly as the waitress came to take their orders.

They ate greasy burgers and stall fries but they could care less. Dean told him about the weekends in summer when he would stay at his uncle Bobby’s scrap yard back when he was little, he explained that he hadn't seen Bobby in three years because he had taken on more hours at work to move out of Cas’ apartment and into his own but that he still got the “you ain't in jail, are you, Dean?” Check up calls at least once every two months.

Sam told Dean about the traumatizing time his mom tried to take him camping when he was fourteen and they had gotten sprayed by a skunk.

The eyes around them had disappeared from Sam’s thoughts.

The ride back was quiet and peaceful. And when they made it back, Dean stood in the doorway of Sam's apartment with an unbreakable grin splayed across his face. “So, I guess this is goodnight.”

Sam smiled back at him “I guess it is.”

Dean leaned up to press a kiss to Sam's lips but the omega pulled Dean into the apartment, connecting their lips in a feverish kiss. The alpha barely managed to lock the door behind him as Sam pulled the both of them back towards their nest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is safe from the law now, but challenges still lie ahead for both of them. Stay tune for more!


	40. Breakfast Burrito

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter forty~! Sadly, that means there is only twenty more chapters left. It may seem like a lot but it still means we are nearing the end. Lots of things still to come before we reach the very end. Enjoy!

Sam couldn't sleep much that night and Dean could tell. The omega had tossed and turned in his arms and around seven in the morning he had given up on sleep and went to take a shower. Dean got up, got dressed and started down the hall but paused at the bathroom. He poked his head through the doorway and saw the blurred outline of Sam's body through the glass doors of the shower. Sam was scrubbing at his hair. Dean couldn't help but stop and watch the simple things like this. Sam made everything interesting.

Stirring himself from his study of his mate Dean cleared his throat and Sam looked over at him “I'm goin’ to pick us up some grub. I'm stealing your keys so I can get back in.”

“Okay.” Sam called back and started on rinsing his hair. The alpha lingered, then forced himself to leave him be. As much as he wouldn't love to join him, his stomach was rumbling and a breakfast burrito was in order.

Sam heard the front door close and finished rinsing off, then got out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and stood before the mirror. It was odd but a certain grey and dullness seemed to have disappeared from him. He's bags were less noticeable under his eyes and he generally looked more healthy.

And then there was the bondmark. It had settled down from an angry bright red and now was a dark pink with a cluster of purple bruises around it from his alpha biting him nearly every time he cam. It was out of passion Dean had defended when Sam had complained. He touched his swollen scent gland at the junction of his neck and shoulder and sighed. The combination of an extremely late heat and a fresh bond mark was making the skin puffy and overly sensitive.

 

He snapped himself out of his thoughts and opened the mirror to the medicine cabinet. His eyes immediately landed on the single tube of roll on scent blocker. It was meant to be a backup. If the piles weren't kicking in fast enough- which, now that he thought about it, had never been an issue hence it escaping his rampage of throwing every- extremely expensive- medication down the drain in the kitchen.

There was no real option now, was there? He couldn't go back to pretending to be a beta. It would hurt Dean if he covered their bond, the scent of being Dean’s, with a generic beta scent. He couldn't even imagine that turning out well. Dean would be pissed and probably leave him. That thought scared him beyond belief because who else would want him? He was too tall, too thin, and independent for the majority of society. And despite his fear of admitting it, he loved Dean more than anything.

A warmth filled his chest, a gentle stroke from his mate through the constant presence of their bond (whether subconscious or not) and he closed the cabinet only to reopen it a second later and grab up the scent blocker. He stared at it in his hand. It had always made life so much easier. Then he threw it in the trash.

Dean showed back up with a brown paper bag in hand just as Sam finished buttoning his wrinkless button up. He didn't have work until eleven so he opted to leave his suit jacket off.

“I personally prefer the birthday suit look on you but, eh, that works too I guess.” Sam rolled his eyes but a smile was fighting it's way up into the creases of his lips. He walked further into the kitchen and watched Dean pull two massive burritos wrapped in tin foil out of the bag, then a jug of orange juice and gave Sam a expectant look when he didn't move to sit at the table.

It was an odd feeling to sit down at his kitchen table and eat with someone. He felt a bit bad that Dean had brought over one of his own chairs because Sam only had one. Now that he thought back, he had only ever eaten two meals at that table. The loneliness from eating at it by himself had been depressing so he had opted to eat leaning against the counter or over the sink and the table was mostly used for paperwork.

But here he was, with his mate, eating breakfast, at the table. He thought about how pathetic Dean would think he was if he told him how damn lonely he had been before he showed up in his life, it was only now becoming clear to him because the beta Sam- the one who was self reliant and didn't need anyone to be happy, had blocked out thoughts like that. Beta Sam didn’t have time to think about loneliness. That was beneath him, something an omega might worry about. Shit, had he really thought like that? His life had been work and taking care of his mother- which was also part of work. Now… now Sam wasn't sure what to do with himself. 

Dean took a few bites of his burrito and stood, asking through a mouth full of egg “wha’re da ups?” “In the cupboard to the left of the sink.”

Sam was thinking about something upsetting. Dean could hear it in his voice just as he had felt it when he pulled into the parking lot of the fast food restaurant. He didn't want to push him to tell him what was wrong but it sure as hell was hard to ignore it.

“Dean, I was thinking about whether or not I should go back on scent blocker this morning…” and there it was. The upsetting thought. The alpha brought the cups to the table and sat down again, his eyebrows were knitted together as he studied Sam's face but it was blank. Man, he hadn't had much of an itch for a drink in a whole week but suddenly he felt like he could drink a liquor store out of business.

“And?” He gritted out and his mate looked away from his piercing gaze “I threw it all out, Dean. I didn't want to cover your scent. It felt… wrong.” Dean relaxed a little but suddenly he was uneasy about Sam going to work after what Sam had told him had happened to his last job. “Are you gonna be okay? Like, are…” he stopped himself from asking if there were any alphas because he wasn't dumb, big shot lawyers were always alphas. His omega was going to walk into a den of alphas.

He would be bonded and his scent would say as much but Sam smelt delicious and potent aside from his alpha claim. 

“I'm not gonna lie, this whole thing is stressing me out. But I know I can't just not do this, you know?”

Dean bit his lip while he nodded and poured himself a glass of oj. Alarm bells were going off inside him. The need to use his alpha voice and tell Sam to stay home overwhelmingly strong.

“I'm gonna scent you, then. No way in hell I can let you go in smelling like a damn cherry pie.”

That made Sam raise an eyebrow “My scent reminds you of cherry pie? Seriously, Dean? Now I'm wondering if you only like me be-”

“Sam, I'm tryin’ to be serious here. Just let me scent you.”

The omega felt himself flush and swallowed the food in his mouth. with a grunt he let out a weak “Fine.”

So after breakfast Dean had led Sam to the couch because the bed was covered in the scent of sex. They had made quick work of their clothes and then Dean rutted against him which of course led to Sam getting hard, but after the alpha had had his release and rubbed his scent into the omega’s skin, Dean tried to get Sam off but he had reluctantly push the hand away. Showing up to work smelling like his mate was one thing, showing up to work smelling like sex was another. The alpha had rubbed his face all over Sam's shirt and licked at his neck. It was hard for the both of them to control themselves when Dean's lips settled over the bondmark but they had held back for the sake of time. Dean had gone off to get Sam a rag to clean his mate of the his release when he was satisfied his alpha scent had saturated Sam enough to turn other alpha’s off.

For an hour after that, Sam had battled with himself to will away his hard on which faded away when he finished redressing and picked up his dictionary to start skimming through it, ignoring the fact that Dean had gone into the bedroom and closed the door. More than likely jerking off to the scent of sex in the sheets from the night before.

His alpha had insisted on dropping Sam off at work on the way to his own job even though he had protested against it. But Dean was stubborn and wouldn't hear it, even when Sam pointed out the fact that the alpha was driving in the opposite direction of his own job.

When Dean pulled up to the curb he gave a low whistle, taking in the pristine, fairly large office building. The rumble of baby’s engine as she idled drew a few looks from the business men and women filtering in and out of the building.

“Thanks for the ride.” Sam offered but didn't move from his spot, the moment he open the door everyone would know. The moment he opened that door, everything would change.

Dean noticed Sam's hesitation a grabbed the back of his neck to turn his face away from the building and back to meet his crooked grin. “You’ll be fine, Sammy. Charlie's got your back and I’m just a phone call away. I'll beat the shit outta anyone who give you any crap, m’kay?”

That brought a smile to Sam's face even though he’d never let Dean attack one of his coworkers no matter what they did because he’d never want him getting thrown in prison.

They both leaned in and shared a sweet kiss that probably lasted a little too long and was a little too passionate to be considered chest but Sam didn't mind. It helped to calm him down. When they pulled apart Dean was grinning as he reached past Sam and opened the door for him.

“Now get outta my car before I change my mind and take you to work with me so you can sit at the bar and look pretty for me all day.” He teased and Sam gave him a fake glare before climbing out and closing the door behind him. He waved Dean off and watched him pull away from the curb for a second then turned to head into the office.

In the elevator there was a wary, speechless silence around him from those who recognized him from around the building. There were a couple- two alpha lawyers from another division that automatically assumed he was a client. One had even gone as far to ask him what division he was looking for because ‘I can point you in the right direction.”

When Sam gave him an incredulous look and stated firmly “I work here.” The elevator had reached the second floor and he had gotten out the moment the doors opened.

In the hallway of his division was even worse because everyone recognized him and knew what he had been (or at least, what he had been pretending to be) but they didn't know him well enough to confront him with the sudden change.

That was, until he past Alastair’s office. The alpha peeked his head out, sniffing the air dramatically before staring at Sam as he walked past him. A rotten smile spilling out on his pale, middle age face.

“You can't be serious.”

Whatever he said after that Sam didn't hear, or at least tuned out. 

Finally, after what seemed to take an eternity, Sam made it to his office. He closed the door and plopped down into his chair. People were lingering as they walked by his office, looking through the blinds at him curiously before moving on. Word of him being an omega apparently travels fast.

It took him an hour to finally tune out all the distractions and focus on doing his job. Charlie stopped by to congratulate him on ‘not getting arrested’ and she gushed about how happy she was that Dean had claimed him and something about how they should do a double date or something. Sam would be lying if he said her enthusiasm for him wasn't embarrassing.

Crowley called later in the evening to yell at him for taking a week off of work with no warning when he needed him. When Sam had asked what Crowley needed him for, his client had gotten quiet and then had demanded Sam to make time in his schedule to see him the following day and hung up.

That led him to thinking about Castiel and a guilty feeling settled in his stomach. Not only had he been ignoring him, Dean had been brushing off all of the beta’s attempts to hang out with him. Dean and him needed to tell Cas what was going on. Another thing, they needed to stop spending every waking moment together. God knew they both loved it, but they had to talk to other people. It was just Dean’s biological need to want to be with him so much and he felt bad that he was taking Dean away from spending time with his friends.

Sam hadn't even visited his mom and that was bad. She was going through a bond break and her house was empty. Yeah, definitely needed to go see her.

He called her after work and asked about Thanksgiving which was a week away. She had animatedly talked about Sam bringing his boyfriend to meet her. He hadn't found the right words to tell her over the phone that he had bonded with Dean. Hell, she didn't know one thing about the guy he was with just that he was an alpha.

Alastair was smoking on the curb when Sam went out to meet his cab and he gave Sam a curt wave but it was unsettling. Alastair had always been… creepy and downright repulsive at times but now it seemed worse. Like Sam being an omega had caught his attention in the worst way possible and now he was making it his job to leer at him.

Sam sighed when he climbed into the cab and gave the driver the address of Dean's work.


	41. Alone Together

Dean groaned in relief when Sam walked through the doorway of the bar. He had twenty minutes left on his shift and he had been dying to go home to Sammy. Home, huh? Maybe it was about time he went back to his own apartment and throw out the undoubtedly spoiled food in his fridge… maybe he should talk to Sam about moving in.

An omega at the bar looked over her shoulder where Sam was coming in and sighed. Realizing the reason the alpha bartender kept rejecting her advances. 

Dean propped his elbows on the shiny, freshly polished wood of the bar and gave Sam a hopeful smile.

“Hey, honey. How was work?” 

Sam narrowed his eyes and sighed tiredly “Shut up.”

“Rough day? Any pieces’a shit I gotta kill?”  
Sam shook his head. He felt achy and tired but seeing Dean seemed to charge him a little.

“A beer would be great right about now.” 

“Alrighty. I'll put it on my tab.”

“I can pay for a beer-”

“Nope.”

With that, Dean went to the mini fridge and pulled a cool bottle out. Benny rounded the back of the bar with an order of Boudin sausage but paused when he saw Sam. Or, more appropriately, smelt the scent of a bonded omega- bonded to Dean. 

“Well I’ll be.”

Sam caught the alpha staring and gave an awkward wave. When Dean came back with the beer, he was suddenly attack with a rather uncharacteristic side hug from his boss. 

“Brother, I misjudged you- Sam, your alpha here has a heart a gold.” He pulled away and gave Dean's shoulder a good shove when a pleased smile spread on the latter’s face “Yeah, thanks for the lectures about cheatin’.” Dean accused half heartedly.

Benny gave a shrug. Not denying it but not apologizing for a second. He gave Sam an approving nod and took the order to the waiting table. 

Sam took a swig of the beer and sighed “We need to talk, Dean.”

Dean's smile dropped and Sam gave him a look “About Cas… and apparently my mom wants you to come over for Thanksgiving.”

That made Dean brighten “Pie?” “Yes, Dean. She is going to bake a pie.” “Cool, so what's this about Cas?” Sam shrugged “Well, for one thing you can't just ignore him. Go hang out with him, he's your best friend, isn't he?” Dean narrowed his eyes “Are you trying to tell me you're sick of me already or somethin?”

“What? No, no, Dean. It's more like you're distracting. You need to spend time with friends-”

“Then why don't we both just hang out with him at the same time? He's friends with you too.” Dean huffed in frustration and Sam felt Dean tug harshly at the bond. 

“Fine, whatever. Just make it happen.” He finished off his beer and threw a five on the counter as a defiance against the alpha as he stood.

“Where are you goin’?” Dean called after him and Sam said, simply. “Home. You should sleep at your own place tonight.” That had sounded a lot harsher than he had intended and he sent an apologetic look to his despairing alpha before giving him a soft smile “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

It had seemed like such a simple thing in theory. He had told Dean to sleep in his own bed for the night. Call it the need to defy his instincts whenever he could. 

But he hadn't imagined how horrible it would feel. His bed was like an iceberg with the sudden loss of Dean’s heat beside him. He tossed and turned for two hours then sat up with an irritated grunt. He should’ve kept some blocker. If he double dosed right then, he wouldn’t feel anything- would probably be able to sleep without Dean. Why couldn’t his biology just let him give the alpha space? Dean could still have a life without Sam. That was the main reason he was doing this; he wanted Dean to know it was okay to not worry about him, that Sam wasn’t going to have another mental break down just because he didn’t have his mate.

He hesitated, wondering what Dean was doing, if he might be having the same trouble sleeping, then felt a shift in that invisible bond. He closed his eyes on the dark room and focused on the feeling. He somehow knew Dean was asleep but had half woken up when Sam subconsciously reached out through their bond.

If Sam focused hard enough he could almost see what Dean was dreaming. Feelings so clear they painted a picture in his mind. He was curious about this aspect of their bond. Back in college biology he never learned about this sort of telepathic connection between bond mates. His teacher had mentioned a higher awareness of emotions between a bonded alpha and omega, but this thing that Dean and him had seemed… more.

He concentrated on the flutter of Dean’s subconscious. Nothing happened right away but then the dream faded in from the darkness of his closed eyes. His chest tightened and his breath hitched. He could feel the tops of tall trees catching the red lighting of a fading sun. Then the feeling shifted in slow motion. There was a house coming into focus. It was a small cottage style house but a warmth filled his chest upon seeing it through the emotions. He supposed that that was Dean’s feelings.

The image shifted again, this time down to the grass where a bright fire truck laid alongside a few hot wheels and plastic army men. A tiny hand with a bandage wrapped around one finger reached down and picked up the fire truck. The kid was Dean, he could just tell by the laughter that filled his ears as the kid began to run around the yard with the toy outstretched as if the fire truck was flying through the air. It was a lot different from Dean’s gruff laugh now but Sam knew it was him.

Dean! 

Dean!

Come inside and wash up. Your father is home and dinner's ready.

The young dream-Dean looked up and over to the house and there stood a woman but her head was missing. A blurry area of nothing sat in her heads place. 

Okay, mommy!

And then young Dean was running to his mom and hugging her, just at hip height to her.

Now, Dean. Can you keep a secret? It’s really important.

Dean nodded into her side.

What happened next jolted Sam in fear. Dean’s mother’s voice became distorted and impossibly low and then the dream changed. He was in what looked to be an extremely cheap motel room.

Little Dean was hiding under the bedcovers and a sense of fear filled him. Then there was loud footsteps approaching the bed, the covers were ripped away from the young boy to reveal a bulky man with a bright red face and a whisky bottle was getting up in Sam’s personal space

Stop your goddamn crying, Dean! Your mom’s a bitch and she never cared! About you, about me? She didn’t give a flyin’ shit about us!

Young Dean was crying and the red face was twisting in inhumanly ways. Dean’s dad… was becoming an actual monster.

Sam had had enough, it was too much for even him who didn’t live through it. He reach out with their bond again and tried to project gentle touches to Dean as the alpha had for him. 

The dream faded out of focus and then disappeared entirely. Sam hoped that it had gone away in Dean’s mind and not because he stopped focusing so hard on it. There was a soft tug on the bond followed by a ghosted touch running down his spine.

An unpleasant chill ran through his body as the memories of the man in the alley came back to Sam like a punch in the gut. The man who had tried to sell him to make a quick buck. The similarity between that man and Dean’s father did not settle with him.

He assumed his gentle tug hadn’t been so gentle and Dean was awake now and probably knew that Sam was up as well 

The alpha seemed very in control, like he knew how this all worked but Sam was fumbling on how to do this; send feelings and what not.

Dean’s lust filtered through and Sam groaned at the tingly shock that latched onto his skin. 

Sam’s phone rang and he immediately picked up knowing full well who was calling at two in the morning.

“Dean.” He breathed not even caring if he sounded like the lust that had lingered on him.

[Sam, what the hell are we doing?] the omega sighed and threw himself backwards into his bed. He was beginning to wonder the same thing.

“I might have gone a little too far with the space thing earlier… I just didn’t want you to think you had to give up your friends for me-“

[Sam, you aren’t to blame for me not talkin’ to Cas. And I get it. As much as I’d love to have you there, with me all the time, I know that life gives you lemons and I gotta go to work and all that baloney.] 

There was a pause and Sam just listened to the soft sound of Dean breathing into the phone. Dean wanted to be with him. Right, he needed to stop letting himself doubt the alpha’s actual feelings. It was just hard for him to grasp an alpha as amazing as Dean actually liked him beyond his biological need. He needed to… trust Dean more.

“That day, when you found out I was an omega. Remember how you were asking me about the bruises on my neck?”

It had come out too quick to catch. There was another long pause, then Dean cleared his throat.

[Yeah, I remember… You wanna talk about it- why now?”]

“No, uh, real reason… but it’s because you deserve to know, Dean.” He bit his lip, maybe Dean didn’t care anymore.

[Okay.] and was just the alert, concerning tone in his mate that had Sam letting go of this weight on his chest.

“I had gone out the night before to meet Garth- the guy I got my medication from…”

Sam scrubbed at his hair, he hated the thought of it much less talking about it but he knew that Dean, if anyone would understand. Especially after seeing that dream. The alley man wasn’t Dean’s dad, was he? No, no. He couldn’t be. Dean said his dad only came around once a month- and what were chances anyway? There were a lot of sleazy people in Lawrence, it could have been anyone.

“I had been on my way back to the cab when some middle aged alpha guy grabbed me from behind and told me not to struggle of he would beat me-“

[Did he do something to you?]

Anger in his mate’s voice made Sam want to cry. No one had ever genuinely cared… but Dean was furious- not at Sam but at the perpetrator.

“He tried to drag me back to his truck saying how he was going to sell me off or something. It… was intense, I’m not gonna lie and say that I wasn’t scared out of my mind. When he went to open his car I fought him off and punched him. I was just so angry, I broke the windows of his truck and left him on the floor.”

[Well, didn’t you report him?] the rumble of his lover’s voice made Sam relax a bit more. Slowly the fear and anxiety of the assault faded, and Sam rolled on to his side. “I couldn’t. I literally had a two-thousand dollars of illegal scent blocker in my backpack.”

The alpha took a deep breath to calm his anger. [That explains why you closed up… I wish you trusted me more back then, I would have tracked that asshole down and killed him.] Sam smiled “Yeah, well, that would have added murder to your criminal record.”

[I’m serious, Sam. I want to track him down and beat him to death.] and Dean said that, with such seriousness in his voice Sam felt a chill prickle his skin because he believed him.

“I didn’t tell you this because I wanted you to do something about it… I just thought you should know it happened.”

[I know, Sammy. Thank you. Can I come over? I don’t like the idea of you bein’ by yourself right now and there's something wrong with my bed.]

“What’s wrong with it?”

[You ain’t in it.]

Was it bad that that line had worked on him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things. importanto things. Sam is just starting to realize just how connected Dean and him really are, and Dean’s alpha instincts are starting to spill out from between the gaps in his passive front. 
> 
> Stick around for more!


	42. Three Pissy  Alphas

Sam had a migraine. Worst of its kind but there was work to be done. Sam had bought Dean and himself coffee before the alpha dropped him off at work again with a smooch goodbye. The omega inside him purred at the idea of his alpha taking such good care of him but the rest of him was irritated as hell that he had to work with such a stiff migraine.

Alistair had been standing in the hall outside of his own office and Sam slowed hesitantly for his only a moment. He knew the older alpha couldn’t do anything to him. Charlie had gotten the board on her side of letting Sam keep his office after showing his extensive court wins as well as the extra work he had taken on to help maintain practice standards. Sure, he was on a sort of ‘probationary’ employment to test the waters of how an omega lawyer would work in the alpha dominated field, but Charlie had assured him no one would get away with any form of harassment.

But as he walked by the alpha with a sneer filled with smiling stained teeth, a hand shot out lightening fast. Sam hated himself for flinching at the grip on his wrist but reigned himself back enough to make himself meet Alistair’s cold eyes.

“You think that this kind of behavior is okay for your kind?” The alpha growled under his breath. Sam’s heartbeat picked up as fear tried to crawl its way up into but he couldn’t let Alistair smell that on him, that would only encourage him. Sam yanked his arm free from the tight grip and gave a sigh “Alistair, you really don’t want me to start a harassment complaint against you, do you?”

That got a laugh out of the looming alpha who offered Sam another plastic, cold grin. “Go ahead, it could be fun to see you go running off to HR, an omega whinnying about an alpha saying things you didn’t like.” The smile dropped from the alpha’s face as he stared at Sam with all the seriousness in the world “I’d love to see that. But you’re smart for a bitch, yeah? Must be to have lied to everyone so long. You understand that if you do say anything, then it won’t be my reputation that is undermined but yours. So here’s what going to happen; You’re going to stop pretending to be something you obviously aren’t and go home, and wait for that alpha of yours to come home and fuck you like a good omega.”

Sam’s hands, his knees, his everything was shaking. The words being spewed from those vial lips were jabbing, one after another, right into that sore spot of his body where he kept all the bad memories and thoughts. This alpha, with his unpleasant, aggressive scent was resonating a lot with a voice deep in his chest. 

Then he felt the soothing flutter of his chest. Dean. His mate was right there with him, and suddenly Sam wasn’t shaking as he leaned in towards the alpha with a growing snarl of his own. “Fuck you, Alistair.”

He didn’t stick around to experience the threatening alpha’s response to that. He made it to his office and closed the door behind him with a shaky sigh. He had been expecting a few people to be angry that an omega was working with them but he hadn’t them to be so direct, knowing that he could report them. Either Alistair was confident that everyone would side with him or he was an absolute idiot. 

But he hated the fact that those words had still gotten to him. What _did_ he think he was doing? Why did he even think that he could be a lawyer still when he had chosen to come out as an omega. This wouldn’t work- couldn’t work. He was so fucking stupid sometimes. 

Sam could feel the tightness in his throat and the burning behind his eyes and knew he wouldn’t let anxiety get the better of him. He took several deep breaths, opening his filing cabinet, he flicked through the alphabetical last names until he came across Crowley. 

“Calm down, calm down…” he whispered to himself under his breath as he shuffled through the papers, determining what he would need for his meeting with Crowley. Work always seemed to calm him down when he was the most stressed out.

Charlie gave a tentative knock on his door despite being his boss. And Sam gave her what he hoped was a smile as she opened the door. Aside from the emotional fatigue he felt from his battle with his mind moments ago, he was wondering if he was coming down with a cold or something, his whole body was achy and he was tired- Dean had mentioned that morning that Sam felt a little too warm. After his meeting with Crowley he was going to go home, drag Dean to bed with him, and sleep for twelve hours.

“Hey, Sam. Do you want to know what’s shit? Alphas. I hate every single one of them.” Sam raised an eyebrow at the alpha woman. She closed the door and groaned in frustration.

“What happened?” He ventured to ask and Charlie sighed again “Someone sent an anonymous email out asking for signatures to get me kicked out of my job because I apparently “show favoritism to friends” and “supported inappropriate gender roles in the workplace.” What kind of bull is that? The only friend I have here is you and I’m not showing favoritism- no, those bitches are just mad that I’m protecting your rights to work here! Arg! Why are alphas such dicks?”

“Well, how do you know it’s an alpha?” She shrugged “Just the way it was written, I guess. No beta would be this ballsy to attack me like this.” Here a big grin spread across her face as she leaned on both her arms on the front of Sam’s desks, clutching the wood so hard her knuckles were white. He could smell the anger in her scent. 

“But the jokes on them; I’m a better computer nerd than I am a lawyer. I’m gonna hack into the office’s network and track down what computer sent that email- then, I’m going to hack into the security cameras-“

“I’m sure you can just ask for the footage-“

“Shh! Don’t ruin this for me. Then, I’ll go back to what the timestamp on the email was and bam! I’ll have caught our dirty rat.”

Sam grabbed up the rest of his papers and stacked them neatly into his briefcase before turning back to Charlie. “I’m really sorry that people are attacking you because of me-“

“Don’t apologize. It’s my job as both your boss and your friend to beat the shit out of anyone who thinks they can bully you just because their dick is bigger than yo- yeah, sorry, I’ll shut up.” Sam shook his head but smiled despite himself.

“You sound like Dean there for a second- the first part not the, um, dick thing.” She smiled and followed Sam out of his office. “Sounds like you had about the best bar pick up ever. When’s the wedding?” She teased but Sam had a feeling she was also legitimately asking when they were getting married. A warmth grew in his face “Uh, yeah. probably not gonna happen. We both aren’t very interested in that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, I get it. You got a bond after all. I’ll pry into your personal life later when we both aren’t supposed to be somewhere. Coffee sometime?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Before Sam even knocked on Crowley’s office door he could feel the alpha’s rage seeping through. That would explain the lack of people in the hall. He guessed he was just really unlucky for having to deal with three angry alphas in a row. Charlie hadn’t been angry at him but he wasn’t so sure with Crowley.

“Come in.” Was grunted from the other side. Sam opened the door and Crowley took one look at him and growled.

“Bloody hell, couldn’t you have chosen a better week to come out as the missing link?”

Not a reaction he was expecting. It actually wasn’t too bad. He assumed it was because his client was clearly agitated and angry at something else at the moment but that was fine. His migraine would hopefully settle down by the time Crowley decided to attack his identity issues and make a guess at what kind of alpha would want to be bond mates with him.

“Sorry. What did you need to discuss with me that was so urgent?”

The alpha calmed down a bit but Sam could still feel the rage simmering underneath “You are friends with… Castiel Novak, correct?”

Sam narrowed his eyes and temporarily stopped flipping through the pages of Crowley’s paperwork he had brought along with him. “Yeah, the friend you marked without consent. Just like your ex wife.” Okay, he was laying it on thick but he was still pretty pissed off at Crowley for that. The alpha seemed to think it over and then offered a sly thin lipped smile “Yes, I think that’s the one I’m referring to.”

“Anyways, as you may or may not know. Feathers and I have consummated our bond many, many times in the last week or so.” He looked around the room “I had my office cleaned so you wouldn’t have to endure the scent of our passionate sex. What with your oh so sensitive omega nose.”

Sam pulled a face which only seemed to make the loan shark smile more broadly “Is that your reaction to the passionate sex or the realization I knew your dirty little secret this whole time?”

“Both. So did you just call me here to talk about how you're banging my friend or what?” He had given up on the formalities and now was speaking more bluntly because this conversation clearly wasn’t going to be about his ex wife or that one employee stealing money. At times like these, Sam wondered why he even took Crowley on as a client.

“Not entirely. See, Castiel resents me for trapping him in a contract so he cannot quit until he has paid me back and when we fight, well, we both get a little too into it.” By this point, Sam had started massaging his temples but stopped to throw in a “And?” Because it seemed Crowley had paused for dramatic effect.

“I want you to tell me how I can get him to formalized our bond by moving in with his rightful alpha, which happens to be me.”

That… that was so very very much not Crowley sitting in that chair across from him. Crowley. Would never. In a million years suggest someone should move in with him. It just didn’t compute. Sam gave a breathy laugh but when the alpha just stared at him in irritation Sam’s smile dropped.

“Wait, you’re serious? You actually like Cas?”

“No, I hate him. I want him to move in with me so I can chop him up into bite sized bits and hide him in the wall so he won’t get any ideas about suing me.” The alpha pulled a face as if to say ‘are you an idiot or something?’ And Sam got the picture even though his client’s sarcastic reply seemed like a possible motivation too.

“Well, honestly Crowley? I don’t see why I should help you. As a person, I don’t like you, like, at all.” “The feeling is mutual, moose. You should do it because I asked you to and now that the divorce is taken care of, I have little need to keep you on retainer. Though, if you did this one favor for me, you could become my full time lawyer.”

That had occurred to Sam, that now that Crowley had gotten his company’s money back from the embezzler and finalized his divorce, he really didn’t have much use for Sam. He really couldn’t afford to lose Crowley as client, either. Especially right after he presented as an omega publicly. The firm would see it as the lack of confidence the clientele had in a mere omega representing them.

He would just have to apologize to Cas when he saw him the next day.


	43. “Variables”

Dean had reached out to Cas with one simple text:

DEAN: “Hey sorry bout last week. Things got a little crazy. Tonight’s movie is the good the bad and the ugly. U should comeover. Sam’ll be there 2”

The reply had been almost instantaneous.

CAS: “Don’t worry. My week was pretty busy as well. I’ll bring ice cream.”

Why on earth his friend wanted to have ice cream in 37 degree weather was beyond Dean but he told him to bring him over some butter pecan if he was bothering to make an ice cream stop.

Dean picked Sam up from the office and took him home to grab a bag for overnight because apparently, he wouldn’t let Dean even kiss him in the alpha’s apartment if he didn’t have work clothes for the next morning and a toothbrush. It was inevitable that they would share a bed every night now and they both knew it. 

Sam thought about what he and Crowley had talked about the day before. About the alpha wanting Cas to move in with him… then he thought about Dean and his nonfunctional living arrangement. It would make things easier for the both of them if they just moved in together. But, he supposed they would need to find a new place altogether. Dean’s apartment was too far away from Sam’s work and Sam’s apartment was even farther from Dean’s work.

The idea of looking for a new apartment, maybe even a house, was exciting but also nerve racking. He would need to talk about it with Dean some time. Not now, but soon. 

Sam finished screwing in the top door hinge of Dean’s replacement bedroom door and looked over his shoulder where the alpha stood with his hands on his hips admiring the new door. “I hate the fact that you can reach that so easily.”

Sam smiled and handed Dean back his drill “Maybe you should have drank more milk growing up.” “Or maybe your dad was really just a skyscraper.” Sam laughed “Mom did tell me she went to the Empire State Building once.” Dean looked as if he had solved the mysteries of the universe “See? Now everything makes sense.”

They stood there grinning for a moment when Sam thought about his run in Alistair the day before. Words that he knew weren’t true but couldn’t help hanging onto. Dean could scent the sudden change and Sam knew as the smile fell away from his mate’s face. He cleared his throat as his mind searched for something else to say, he just… couldn’t talk about what had happened in the office yet. His nerves were a little raw still and the idea of talking about it made him want to vomit, so he started down a different path. “Dean? Do you remember having a fire truck toy when you were little?”

The alpha gave him a wary look “Vaguely, Yeah. I think every kid had one back then, why?” Sam shrugged “Did you have a dream about it recently?” “Uh, not that I can think of? I don’t really remember dream shit- What’s this about, Sammy?”

“Our bond is… really weird, Dean. I think I saw what you were dreaming two nights ago.”

Dean just stared at him for a long time before he shrugged. “Is it weird?” “Yeah, Dean. It’s weird. I’ve taken biology, whatever ‘this’ is wasn’t ever even mentioned.”

The alpha glared at his mate for the jab at his very limited schooling and started towards the kitchen to put away the drill, feeling Sam trail in behind him.

“I donno what you want me to say, Sammy. Maybe it’s what I’ve been sayin.” Sam’s eyebrows drew together as he shamelessly watched his alpha bind down to tuck the tool into a low cabinet. Those jeans fit him really well. Hm. Dean stood straight again and gestured to the air vaguely when Sam just stared “Ya know… that thing I said when we were here.”

“Well, that certainly narrows it down.” Sam let out a huff. Dean scratched at the stubble on his cheek and took a step towards his omega. If it wasn’t Dean staring into with such intense, piercing green eyes, Sam might have snarled or maybe even ducked his head away to avoid the confrontation, but over the months with this alpha, Sam had gotten used to the constant eye contact he held when he was talking about something serious.

“Sam, I felt freakin’ butterflies when I first saw you- the chessy ass butterflies a teenage girl feels for her high school crush.” Sam cracked a smile at his mate comparing himself to a teenage girl. Dean gave him a warning look when Sam opened his mouth to say something. When his omega closed those perfect lips of his again Dean heaved a sigh and went on “It’s not like you were the first attractive person to walk into the bar- I didn’t have the slightest clue that you were an omega, but something in the very pit of my gut was practically screaming at me to talk to you, to try to get close to you- it wasn’t lust, wasn’t even curiosity. I needed to know you to be close to you- to be like this…” here he gestured the centimeter between their chests before placing a gentle hand to Sam’s face. His mate still felt too warm to him. 

But just as Sam leaned in, his lips just barely touching the alpha’s, the feeling of fingers tangling in the hair of the back of his head, there was a knock on the front door. Dean bowed his head dramatically then looked up to the ceiling and mumbling “God, why the hell does Cas always have the worst timing?”

Sam pulled back with a flush on his face. Dean describing his need for him that went beyond instinctual had managed to get him a little hot and bothered. He was relieved to know Dean had felt the same almost magnetic charge between them as he did. Taking a shaky breath Sam leaned back against the counter and tossed his head towards the door “Better get that.” 

When the grumbling alpha opened the door Cas stared at him blankly for a moment then held up a shopping market bag and a small smile.

“I bought, peanut butter, butter pecan, and mint chocolate as well as regular chocolate.”

“C’mon in. We were just about to pop the movie in.”

The beta came inside and offered Sam a tired smile when Sam gave him a curt wave. Cas took a moment to note that there was definitely something different about Sam but chalked it up to less bags under his eyes.

Once each of them had sufficiently filled three bowls with a ridiculously out of season desert they had taken up their spots in the living room. The chair was Castiel’s and Sam and Dean on the couch. Dean went over to the tv to set up the movie and Cas turned to Sam.

“So, what have you both been up to recently? Dean mentioned you were out of town.” If only the beta knew how loaded that question was. 

“Well, uh, I didn’t actually go anywhere. Dean and I are bonded now.” Castiel’s face brightened with a happy smile “I’m glad it worked out.” then turning to Dean still fiddling with the DVD player Cas narrowed his eyes “You didn’t have to lie and say he was out of town, I would have understood if you guys wanted a few days of privacy-“ 

Sam nibbled at his lip and offered a little puff of a laugh “Uh, well, we were both trying to be careful, because there was… variables that, uh, made us-“ “Sam’s an omega.” The alpha announced bluntly, not even looking up from the dvd case he was fiddling with. Sam narrowed his eyes at the alpha as he finally turned around to give Sam a shrug “C’mon, Sam. ‘Variables’? Really? You were floundering, I’m just helping you out.” “I was not floundering! I would have gotten to the point without your help, jerk.” Sam grumbled before turning back to the beta still scooping ice cream into his mouth, though, he was looking between the two of them trying to get his head around what was being said. He smiled as understanding came to his face.

“You guys are messing with me, aren’t you?” There was a pause and Sam straightened his back. “What? No, Cas. Dean’s telling the truth.” It was much more awkward to explain to someone like Castiel- not because he was a beta, but because he was a bit thick when it came to matters like this as opposed to Charlie and even Crowley. “I know it might be hard to understand but I’ve sorta been hiding it for a while. I think I’m starting to accept what I am.” He took a deep breath “And then there’s Dean…” here he looked to his mate, who had finished with the dvd and was watching him with such an immensely proud expression on his face that Sam had to look away before he could forget what he was saying. “I decided it was time to stop hiding.”

The beta leaned forward and sat his empty ice cream bowl down on the coffee table “well, I must admit I did not see this ever coming. And I’m having trouble seeing it.” He looked Sam over with obvious confusion “I just can’t see it. No offense, Sam but you don’t look anything like an omega.” Castiel sat back narrowing his eyes on Sam thoughtfully “Though, there is something different about you.” He shook his head as if still trying to wrap his head around it and then gave his friends a smile “Whatever the case, I’m just glad the both of you are happy.”

Cas really was a great friend, Dean thought. He believed that no matter what happened, he could trust Castiel with it and that the beta would always accept him. He could even see Cas helping him kick his own butt if he ever got the idea to do something stupid to Sam. 

“Alright, I can only take so much of the chick flick stuff in one day. I’m starting the movie now.”

Dean didn’t give them even a second, he pushed play and came back over to the couch. Sam sighed in relief. Relief that he was done talking about personal things. It always seemed to get him all anxious whenever he talked to someone about himself- his real self.

His alpha plopped down beside him, taking his ice cream down with him and Sam let a warmth fill his chest at the soft press of their legs together. He could deal with this, this was fine…

If he only knew what was waiting around the corner for them…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cas is just a bit of a dootydoo. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. More to come! Let’s find out what exactly is waiting around that corner for Sam and Dean...


	44. Thanksgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m falling asleep, probably not the best spellchecking in the world. Enjoy!

Things like cooking where things Sam rarely did. He relied mostly on the grocery store to put the food together for him so all he had to do was pop it into the microwave or oven and it would be ready to go.

Thanksgiving was different. Since before he could even read, Sam had been helping his mom in the kitchen during the holidays. This time was no different.

Dean had picked Sam up from work as the alpha got off earlier than usual and he was more than willing to let Sam change his business suit jacket and button up into one of his nicer flannels in his car. Dean did not resist the urge to catcall his passenger to which he received an unimpressed glare.

After some very hit and miss directions on Sam’s part (due to what Dean could only assume was nerves) they had managed to pull up to the front of Mary Campbell’s house. 

“Sam.” His omega seemed to come back to himself from wherever his mind had wandered and tore his eyes from the window to meet Dean’s serious but calm expression. “Hm?” “It’ll be fine. Stop freakin’ out so much. Just watching you is stressin’ me out” Sam offered a small smile as he felt, without looking, the gentle touch of his mate’s hand on his knee, then looked towards the house.

“Sorry, its just weird for me, doin’ this, you know? I’ve never brought anyone to meet my mom before.”

Dean opened the driver side door, prompting Sam to follow suit and he gave the omega a toothy grin over the hood of the car “What, you really think your mom’s not gonna like me or somethin?” “Well, maybe- I have no idea. We’ve never talked about dating or me bonding before.”

“Yikes, that would explain why you’re so bad at flirting.” Sam rolled his eyes “It’s like you want me to tell you to go home or something.” Dean rounded the front of his car and caught up to Sam when the omega had started up the walkway to the house without him.

“And miss out on the pie you promised would be the best I ever tasted? Like hell!” Dean was trying to make Sam less nervous, he could tell so he gave the alpha’s hand a brief squeeze to let his mate know he appreciated his effort before pulling away when they had reached the porch.

He rang the doorbell and sighed when he felt the alpha’s comforting scent wash over him. He really needed to listen to his mate and calm down but his stress levels were always worse when it came to his mother. 

Since Ketch had come into their lives things hadn’t been the best between them. Now that Ketch was gone, Sam didn’t know what his mother expected of him. He had been taking care of her for so long, being her rock when things were too much. But now what was he supposed to be to her?

The door opened and there his mother stood, her face flushed with the heat of the kitchen, a sweater he hadn’t remembered seeing since his with grade graduation, and a smile upon her lips.

“Sam,” she pulled him in for a hug but stopped halfway when she suddenly realized that her son didn’t smell like a beta, but a mated omega. She pulled him the rest of the way to her and squeeze her son to her tightly and repeated, much more emotionally “Sam,”

They pulled apart after a long moment and Sam straightened and gestured to Dean, who had stood awkwardly by the two omegas, not really sure what to do with himself but clearly trying his best to look like he knew what he was doing.

“Mom, this is Dean...He’s, um, my mate. Dean, this is my mom, Mary.”

Dean offered Sam’s mother his hand and a crooked grin. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” 

Mary looked at the alpha in pure and utter shock for a moment before taking his hand obligatorily. “Nice to meet you as well.” When she only stared at Dean, Sam cleared his throat. “Uh, Mom?” She realize herself and looked away from Dean to her son “Oh, sorry. Where are my manners? Please, come in.”

Dean felt something weird. Weird in a way he had never felt before. Sam had mentioned that his mother was going through a bond break so maybe that was the case. Whatever it was, Sam seemed to not notice it at all as the omega woman led them into a well furnished living room. 

“You both can sit and watch the game if you want. I still have a few things to pop in the oven-“

“I’ll help you.” Sam offered but his mom gestured towards Dean, avoiding meeting the alpha’s eyes “You can’t just leave him all by himself, Sam.” “Then I’ll help too. The more the merrier, right?”

That made Mary actually meet the alpha’s eyes in surprise that quickly settled into incredulity. “Are you sure?” Dean shrugged “Yeah, why not?” Mary looked to Sam then back to Dean “Alright. The kitchen is this way, you can drop your coat on the couch.”

Mary, did not know how to feel about this alpha. He was, for lack of better words, an alpha stereotype when it came to his build and the way he held himself. The cocky smirk had made her stomach turn in the most uncomfortable way. She didn’t know whether she should attack him for claiming Sam or to be supportive… Nothing seemed to make sense nowadays… this, this might just do her in for good if she didn’t take care of this correctly. 

Sam looked over to where Dean was chopping the celery into fine bits for the last dish to finish; the stuffing. He was surprised by how good Dean was with a knife. Unlike whatever Sam cut, the alpha’s cuts were always the same thickness.

“Since when have you been good at cooking?” Sam demanded and Dean shrugged, clearly happy with the fact that he had managed to throw off his mate. “Since now, I guess. You could say I’m good with my hands-“ The alpha looked at Sam teasingly but his mate wouldn’t look at him. Too busy rubbing at his head. There was rough, almost painful yank on the bond and Dean finally taken into account that he had said that in front of Sam’s mom.

“Or not.” He tacked on looking to gage Mary’s reaction only to find her pretending she hadn’t heard the whole thing. Dean liked her, she seemed cool- not really like a mom but he guessed that by Sam’s messed up experiences with her he had told him about, that parenthood was not something she had wanted.

“So, I wanna hear how you two met.” She finally broke into the conversation and both men looked at her dumbly for a long moment. Then Sam started stiffly “Dean’s a bartender. A friend from work and I just so happened to go to his bar for drinks after work. Then we, uh, got together.”

Dean gave a dry laugh as he handed Mary the finished celery wedges “You’re leaving out the part where you rejected me for weeks! If you weren’t so goddamn stubborn we would have hit it off that first time.” Then the alpha looked to Mary “He didn’t admit he was even attracted to me ‘til the first time I kissed him.”

Mary found her lips curling up before a burst of laughter spilled from them at her son’s ever reddening face. She started to mix the stuffing. “Sam has always been stubborn. I guess I’m to blame for that.” Dean smiled warmly and let the at home feeling flood their bond. Sam looked over at him with a reluctance that said ‘I wish I could hate you right now but I can’t bring myself to’

The older omega watched the brief exchange curiosity. It looked as though they were have a conversation just by looking at each other. When they finally looked away they were smiling. Mary ate an extra apple slice from her cutting board and announced “Well, there’s crackers, meats, and cheeses. Help yourselves to some because we have at least an hour before we can start to pull everything out. I have to go the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

They watched her disappear around the corner of the open kitchen entrance. Dean looked at Sam anxiously, “I can’t tell if she hates me or loves me.” “Me either. I think she keeps frowning because she isn’t feeling well. I’ve actually never seen her so cheery during a bond break. Last time she would lay on the couch and cry all day. And that was after three or four years of trying to break it.”

“That sounds awful.” Dean commented under his breath before raising his eyebrows and taking a deep breath, signaling his change in conversation “But this is nice. Don’t remember the last time I spent the holidays in a house. Didn’t celebrate with my dad at all but for the last couple a years, Benny’s been having a special thanksgiving dinner for his regulars and that’s been pretty good.”

“Well, as long as you don’t make a complete ass of yourself, I’m sure you can start coming here for the holidays.” Dean smiled at Sam’s invitation and pulled the omega in for a quick kiss. 

When everything was pulled out of the oven and lined up on the counter, Dean’s mouth was watering. “I don’t have a very big table so load your plates up and bring them over.” The alpha nodded, not looking away from the food that Sam was loading on to his own plate and realized that he was supposed to be grabbing some as well. He made a thanksgiving mountain on his plate. 

Sam took one look at Dean’s plate and sighed, whispering under his breath “Try to chew with your mouth closed tonight. Please. For me.” The alpha waved him off as he sat down but took a mental note not to talk with his mouth full, not to moan when something was good, and, on Sam’s request, not chew with his mouth open. Just for tonight.

“Can I offer you something to drink, boys? I’m not much of a wine person but I do have beer. Also eggnog and sprite.”

“One beer here.” Dean answered and Sam thought for a moment about his already upset stomach from stress “Sprite for me.” Mary gave her son a look before turning to go back into the kitchen. 

“Are you pregnant or something, Sam?” His mom teased from the other room and he narrowed his eyes at the kitchen entrance and said confidently “No. my stomach is just upset.” He poked at his food moodily and Dean watched him for a moment before leaning towards Sam.

“I actually haven’t thought about it until now, but, uh, should I have been… you know, wearing protection?” Sam’s skin flared a bright red and he cleared his throat, talking just as quietly as the alpha had “its fine. I’m ninety-eight percent sure that I’m infertile. If you take heat blocker for more than four years it cuts down your fertility every time you miss a heat. I’ve missed about a hundred and fifteen in total so I think we’re good.”

“Are you serious, Sam?” Mary interjected as she rounded the corner of the table, balancing three drinks. She sat Sam’s in front of him and Dean’s to the alpha (though, she was kind of slamming them down more than placing them) then she took her seat at the head of the table with a beer of her own in hand and a extremely serious expression on her face.

“You don’t know how much those pills affected you. It’s different with everyone. Have you really not had any contraception?” Now Sam was feeling unsure and a tingle of panic was crawling up his spine and Mary sighed tiredly as she turned to look at Dean who was in mild shock himself “Well, thanks to Sam not reading the whole warning label you two might be expecting.”

“Mom!” Sam interjected and the other omega looked at him with an innocent grin “What?” “Stop trying to scare Dean. I know what you’re trying to do.” His face was stained with a blush he couldn’t get to go away but he had figured out what she was doing. Trying to scare them- especially his alpha.

speaking of which, Dean was staring at his plate, face contorted in some odd emotion Sam couldn't read. Beyond that, Dean had somehow managed to shut him out both from poking around their bond and from scenting his mood in the air. Strange. “Dean, I’m not pregnant. My mom’s messing with you.” Sam watched carefully as his mate seemed to relax a fraction. He wouldn’t pry, too worried about what he would find. In all honesty, Sam had no idea what he thought about children. He definitely felt queasy about the idea of being pregnant, but he wasn’t entirely against it either. What’s the point of even thinking about it when he’s positive he’s not going to conceive even if he wanted? Sam shook his head at himself and at his mom who was grinning around her first bite of mashed potatoes like the devil himself. “Though, you should still take a test- and for god’s sake, use some kind of protection. You can’t rely on luck like that, Sam.” Mary said through her mouthful and Dean looked at her, then to Sam as if to say ‘See? She’s doing it too!’ 

“Okay, can we stop talking about this?” He didn’t mean it to sound so angry but it had come out that way. Mary’s eyebrows drew together then relaxed as if she was just now realizing that Sam didn’t want to talk about it.

“Fine. So, Dean. Where are you from?”

“Uh, well. I’m from right here in Lawrence but my dad and I… moved around a lot for work when I was younger.”

Sam felt his alpha’s leg brush against his under the table and gave Dean a look but the alpha was looking at Mary. “What was your last name again? I don’t think Sam mentioned it.” “Oh, right. Winchester. Not to be confused with the Winchesters that built that weird ass house in California. Nah, my family’s… not that cool.”

She seemed to be thinking this over when suddenly tears were spilling out of her eyes. Sam was on his feet in an instant. Concern filling his chest but Mary waved him off, laughing at herself “I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just the bond break.”

Dean watched Sam fuss over his mom curiously. Something didn’t feel right about this scene… but then he contributed it to the bond break again.

Dinner went on with some embarrassing childhood moments shared, Dean avoiding talking about his family and Mary seemed to calm down from her episode. Sam was emotionally drained. To say his mom and his mate had ganged up together to embarrass the heck out Sam would be an understatement. They were down right brutal. His mom brought out Sam’s high school yearbook to show off Sam’s god awful haircut and deep frown his senior year.

It had been horrible and he vowed to himself to never let the two of them see each other again if he ever wanted to love either of them because together they were just toxic.

Dean slept at Sam’s that night and there was a point when they started to touching each other intimately but they had given up on taking it much further than that. They had settled with laying flush against each other. Sam sighed contently at the rhythmic inhale and exhale of Dean’s breath against his chest.

“Today was good.” The alpha muttered and Sam hummed a ‘hm’ in response. Dean looked up at the ceiling above their nest with building unease, before finally voicing his concern.

“You ever get the feeling things are going too well?”

Sam opened his eyes tiredly and shot Dean an uncomprehending expression so Dean went on. “I donno. Nothing’s ever been this perfect in my life that it’s kinda freakin me out. I feel like… I’m either going to do something horrible or someone’s goin to do it for me and then the whole thing ‘s gonna burn down right in front of me. I really don’t know what I would do if something happened and I couldn’t be with you, Sam.”

“Dean, trust me, we aren’t perfect- and nothing you do could make me hate you- well, if you cheat on me, I guess. But that’s not important. I could get really pissed off at you, disappointed maybe, but I couldn’t hate you.”

The alpha turned his head towards his mate and planted a kiss to his forehead. They laid there in silence for a long time before Dean’s chest rumbled into Sam’s with the vibrations of his gravely, sleep torn voice.

“What’re we supposed to do now, Sam?”

“Sleep, wake up, go to work, sleep again.” Sam mumbled through a pillow and Dean sighed. He had hoped for more of a conversation but he guessed it was his fault for choosing to wait until they were practically asleep.

Something very unsettling was filling Dean’s chest. He watched Sam’s chest rise and fall. “I love you, Sammy. I know I don’t say it as much as I should, but I do. Whatever happens next, I’ll keep you safe.” It was a mere whisper but to Dean it had felt like he was shouting. 

Sam had already drifted off to dreamland and the alpha supposed that was just as fine not having Sam hear the absolute sap pouring out of his mouth. Despite the uncertainty, Dean closed his eyes and focused on the melding of his and Sam’s breath. He was asleep within minutes


	45. Test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ so, you want some music? It’s the songs I’ve been playing on repeat the last three months while posting. They _mostly_ makes sense for this story. [Here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo33XJzSgwM) [And here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=49jqVRaxfuA)
> 
> Anywho, enjoy!

It was officially four months. Four months of Dean in his life and a month of them bonded.

Four months… and Sam was in a drugstore trying to find out about a possibly a month or less thing. He stared at the bright pink boxes and cringed. He did not like this one bit.

After a long time staring, he brought himself to grab up the box and then a bottle with that same, fluorescent pink before reluctantly making his way up to the counter. He did not, for a second, meet the alpha cashier’s eyes. 

“Fifty-two eighty-three.” Sam dug his wallet out and pulled his credit card. As the alpha scanned it, he asked nonchalantly “Wanting a negative read?” That made Sam’s head snap up.

The alpha was a lengthy teen, who obviously hated his job by the daze sort of look in his eyes. “What?” Sam asked dumbly and the alpha rolled his eyes “birth control and a test has ‘hoping for a negative’ all over it.”

Sam got his card back and gave the catchier a bland smile. As if he actually meant to smile. That was funny. If Sam actually cared enough he would have put the asshole in his place but he was beyond caring. There were more important things, like the results of that test he was buying, or the five and a half hour road trip to Dean’s uncle’s house in South Dakota the alpha had set up to happen in two weeks. Anything really.

He took a cab back to his apartment and gave a groan of irritation. He really, really didn’t want to do this test. It was stressful… but it was also stressful not knowing so he sucked it up and decided it was better to just get this over with.

Dean didn’t know he was doing this- didn’t need him to know til this was over. Knowing Dean, he would want to be with him, here, as he waited a painstaking ten minutes for the results. Sam didn’t want to make this a big deal- ‘It’s a pretty freakin’ big deal, Sam!’ He could almost hear his alpha growl in his head. He stuffed that down quickly and continued his staring contest with the seemingly innocent pink plastic stick sitting on the edge of the sink.

Then, purple started to emerge from the white window for results. Bated breath, pulse quickening. Fear. 

He was momentarily distracted from the test when there was a soft pull on their bond. Dean must have felt his panic and was wondering what was going on. “Right, calm down.” He mumbled to himself. It was becoming clear that only the strongest emotions were the ones that got to Dean and vice versa. Which, Sam took as a godsent. How awful would it be if Dean could know what he was feeling at all times? How would either of them even know whose emotions were who’s at that point? No, Sam liked the things the way they were now.

When he refocused on the test with the snap of his neck he stared… and stared for a long time. Then, he fumbled for the box checking how to read the test again.

One line: negative

Oh.

He hadn’t been sure what he had wanted. A rational thought scoffed at him. A negative, of course. He wasn’t ready for a baby if he’d ever be. Still, somehow he felt… disappointed.

Dean texted him some two or three minutes later and he dumbly looked at the screen, not really seeing it for a second before his eyes refocused. 

DEAN: “U Ok?”

Sam sighed, throwing the test in the trash trying to forget his complicated feelings and washed his hands of it all. Scrubbed his hands so harsh that his skin was raw. An unknowable anger seeped deep into his skin then died out just as quickly. Too tired and definitely not wanting to let Dean in on this. Not yet, at least. He wasn’t really sure what Dean thought about this kind of stuff, he was so guarded when it came to things like this. Nor did he want to make his mate think he was disappointed about the result.

It took well over a minute before he could bring himself to answer the text.

SAM: “I’m fine.”

With a jolt of guilt, he realized that that had been his first lie to Dean since they bonded.


	46. Home Is Where The Heart Is

Dean, well… he really hadn’t expected this so soon. Maybe because he had completely forgotten with a good chunk of his time spent with Sam nowadays. His lease was coming up for renewal. Ordinarily, he’d shrug and sign the papers ‘yes I do want to keep my apartment’ yahda yahda yahda- but, things were different now. It wasn’t just him and the occasional free-loading friend. Nah, Dean had a mate.

A mate he’d rather live with than whatever back and forth tango between their bed’s they had been doing for a month. 

He would usually consider himself pretty good at speaking his mind in such a way that anyone would agree or do what he told them to- something that had once gotten him a Rolex off a stranger’s wrist back when he was a con artist. But when it comes to Sam he always becomes unsure, possessives and aggressive yet scared and gentle.

It was as if the moment he saw the omega his tongue got tied and all clear thoughts went out the window. He hated being lame and it was sure infuriating when he managed to get one smooth pickup line out only to be ignored or an unimpressed eyebrow raised. Now, if Sam smiled and or rolled his eyes, that would indicate the line had worked on him. Those were always the best moments for Dean.

Recently, making Sam happy and safe had become the very thing his life revolved around… god, how did his life change so quickly?

Cas had taken the reveal of Sam’s real second gender fairly well but he seemed to be giving them their distance lately. Benny had taken it well and so had his daughter Elizabeth… Sam’s work wasn’t really the same. His mate didn’t say anything definite but Dean knew there were issues at work by the way Sam had gone from complaining about annoying coworkers to just saying “work was good.” Tight lipped if Dean ventured to ask.

Dean scrolled through the listings of houses in the area on Sam’s computer. His mate hadn’t given him a key to his apartment so from time to time he would just pick the lock and wait for Sam to come home. He had scared the shit out of him a couple of times but he was starting to get use to it.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Dean greeted as Sam entered the living room looking absolutely exhausted. Without a word he plopped down on the couch next to his mate and closed his eyes.

“Rough day?” He brought one of his hands up and started to massage the back of Sam’s neck who groaned in both dismay and pleasure.

“Work was good.” And there it was, Dean stopped rubbing his mate’s neck and puffed out a sigh “Really? Work was good but you look like someone just dragged you through the mud?” That made Sam laugh humorlessly “Always great to hear your compliments.” When Dean stared at Sam expectantly, the omega exhaled loudly and leaned back into his mate’s hand still resting against the back of his neck. It was about time he started letting Dean in on the bullshit he was dealing with in his supposedly ‘professional’ work environment.

“Just people being passive aggressive- a paper room boy actually had the guts to try and quiz me on my knowledge of the law. I told him if he didn’t get back to his job he wouldn’t have one tomorrow and of course that got circulated around and misconstrued, they painted me out to be an asshole that doesn’t even know basics of law.” He gave a heavy sigh and Dean pulled Sam more into himself, having him lay halfway on his chest. He didn’t say anything because he knew there was more Sam hadn’t mentioned.

“Charlie caught the alpha who sent out a stupid email... it was this newbie assistant still trying to pass the bar exam, Adam Milligan- he couldn’t be older than twenty-one.” Dean tried to remain calm but he could feel a bubbling anger building. This ‘stupid email’ was probably a whole lot worse than stupid. His hands raked through Sam’s hair drawing a pleased sound from him. Sam loved it when Dean ran his fingers through his hair, it always managed to relieve his headaches. 

“So what are they gonna do about that asshole?” Sam shrugged, his eyes closed as he focused on the way the alpha’s hands ran up and down his neck, his scalp, his shoulders. Damn, Dean really was good with his fingers.

“He got fired but now I have to deal with this other knothead, Alistair. Yeah, uh, I had to file a harassment complaint against him but-“ a growl rubbled out of Dean and his hands once again stop where they are “What.” His voice was so deep, Sam couldn’t help but shutter at the anger it held.

“What did he do?- did he fucking touch you? Why didn’t you tell me before?” Sam turned in Dean’s hold so he could give him a narrow eyed look “Because, Dean… Sometimes I need to think about things before I share them… especially this kind of thing… you know what happened to me before.” Now Dean’s eyes were wide and he held Sam’s face in his hands, searching it for something “Did he…” he started in absolute worry but then Sam held onto one of the hands holding his face and smiled, but it was tinged with just the tiniest tint of bitterness “No… but he said something that brought up all that shit from before and I… I just had to deal with it on my own.” Dean understood the feeling of wanting to work things out on his own but he couldn’t help that instinctive need to protect his mate from all the hurt the world had to offer, to make it so his Sammy never had to know sadness or pain ever again. But he couldn’t just brick Sam up from the world, that would be worse than the assholes who tried to make Sam ashamed of who he was. Sam would see it as Dean being like all the other alphas that kept their omegas at home and wouldn’t let them leave without their permission. 

So Dean did the only thing he could think of to do; he pulled Sam to him and hugged him tightly “Yeah, I get it, Sammy. Doesn’t mean I won’t show up to your work randomly and beat this ‘Alistair’ to death though.” That made Sam chuckle into his mate’s shoulder “Probably won’t have a chance to. HR doesn’t want to deal with a potential news story being made out of the mess so he’s going to be let go.”

The computer that had all but been forgotten about lit up when Dean nudged it and a small house showed up on the screen. Sam instantly recognizes it. It was the one from Dean’s dream. The alpha temporarily put aside his contempt for Sam’s work and felt a flutter of unsure nerves working their way through him.

“I was just lookin’ at houses- the lease is almost up on my apartment and, uh, I was just thinking it would only make sense if we-“

“You lived here as a kid.” 

Dean stared at him for a long time then looked at the house on the screen then back at Sam “I’m not followin’. What?”  
The omega gave his mate a slightly irritated glance before putting the computer in Dean’s lap and sitting up so he was seated beside Dean. 

“Back when your mom was still around. This is the house, right here.” Sam explained more carefully, as if Dean was just a tad bit slow upstairs for not understanding him the first time. The alpha looked the house over incredulously.

“How’d you even come up with that?- _I_ don’t even remember that house that well. how do you know it’s this one?” Sam narrowed his eyes at his mate “Are you serious? Dean, I told you, didn’t I? About your dream I saw?” When he received a vague look of recognition Sam nodded and gestured to the computer “This is the house I saw you outside of, your mom’s face was all blurry but she was standing on the porch-“

“Wait, you saw my mom?” Dean asked in surprise and Sam sighed “were you just not listening when we talked about this before?” The alpha was looking at him intently now “I was listening, Sam. You didn’t mention my mom.”

They were quiet for a long time. Sam could feel the alpha concentrating on their bond, a pressure in the bond mark. He opened himself up to the gentle searching but moments later Dean drew back. A scent of sorrow and mourning settled over them that set Sam’s omega practically drowning in pain. He hated the feel of Dean’s sadness.

Sam had never seen Dean so upset. Instinct told him to wrap the alpha in his arms, kiss him until he stopped making that torturous scent but his mind only letting his instincts draw him to tug Dean back into a hug.

“Shit, I can’t believe I forgot her face.” He sighed as he flipped through the listing picture of the house. “Guess things that old start to fade after so long. I can barely remember but yeah… this looks like my old house.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you, Dean…” Sam mumbled as he pulled the alpha more into his arms more or less for his own comfort but it seemed to cancel out the growing darkness around his mate who gave him a grateful kiss on the forehead before looking back at the house on the screen.

“I think we should buy it.”

Sam looked at Dean’s stony face with one of concern “As in, you want to move in together? “ “that’s what I’m sayin’.” Sam gave a sigh for what felt like the millionth time that day “I’m all up for moving in together, but Dean. Do you really want to live there? Wouldn’t it just make you upset?”

The alpha’s eyes refocused from wherever his mind had gone and he gave a groan. “Yeah… probably. I just don’t like the idea of someone else living there, ya know?” Sam nodded “We’ll find another house if you want a house and if you're up for it, we could always go and visit your old home sometime while it’s still empty. How’s that?”

“Yeah, haven’t thought much about my mom in a while… it would be nice to, ya know, feel connected to her somehow.”

Sam gave Dean a warm kiss which the alpha returned languishly at first, but grew more firm as time past. They didn’t pay the laptop much mind when it clattered dangerously to the floor. Dean was on Sam in seconds. Oxygen had been added to their ever burning fire and the flames of lust were catching.

Kisses evolved into bites and from bites to laughs on Dean’s part. Sam looked up at him with a flushed grin as his alpha buried his head into the collar of Sam’s button up “What?” Sam asked in amusement as his mate was choking on his own tongue as he looked him over. Sam looked good, he almost always looked good - there were those god awful faces he made when he was waking up that reminded Dean of a constipated squirrel- but damn, had he always smelt this good?

“Nothin’, Sammy. I’m just appreciating the pity groping I am receiving.” The omega glared but it quickly dissipated when Dean brought his face up to Sam’s neck and began to scent him. They laid there in a pile of content sighs for something like an hour, grinding together slowly, feeling every muscle under their wandering hands flexing, arching, relaxing. Eventually, Dean reluctantly pulled his swollen lips from the heated kiss of his lover to speak up. His breath hot and muffled against Sam’s throat.

“You smell even sweeter than your heat. Do you always smell this good?”

Sam gasped when he felt the slow grind of his alpha’s obvious hard on into his hip once again. The lips on his throat began to part, making way for the hot tongue to lather his neck. Sam started bring his hips up to meet Dean’s painfully slow grinding.

“Is your scent from McDonald’s? ‘Cuz I’m lovin’ it.”

… it was so out of place in the heat of an intimate moment that a puff of laughter escaped Sam’s lips before he could stop it. “That was by far the worst of the worst one liners you’ve used.” The alpha shrugged, sitting up to undo his pants. “I donno, you laughed at it so that’s gotta count for somethin, Sammy.” “I only laughed because I wasn’t expecting you to ruin the mood. But you did, so…”

Dean successfully tugged his jeans and boxers down to his knees, it was about time they took it up a notch- even though he loved just kissing and touching Sam like he had been doing for sometime. He smiled wide when his mate looked anywhere but his erection. With a gentle hand, Dean brushed his fingers over the slight rise in Sam’s slacks. The omega flinched from the gentle touch “Seems you’re still into it.”

The alpha gave Sam a good squeeze which earned his a airy gasp, then set to work on getting those pesky pants off. They were off in a moment as Sam eagerly lifted his hips up to help Dean slid them off.

Slick. The glorious scent of his mate’s pure arousal and there was so much. A rumbling growl filled his throat and his hand was sliding down from Sam’s well toned stomach all the way to the wetness between the mounds of his soft ass.

“So wet, Sammy. Want me to fuck you? Knot you real nice? Hm? Would you like that?” Dean rambled. He watched his own hand as it rubbed at Sam’s entrance vigorously, sending obscene wet friction noises into the relatively empty room.

The omega tossed his head back in ecstasy and embarrassment. Dean really shouldn’t be this good at getting Sam this worked up. It wasn’t fair. That’s when he got an outrageous idea.

“Dean, Stop… please.” The alpha had been just starting to rub his member against the slick but abruptly stopped albeit reluctantly. “Wha? What’s wrong, Sammy?” There was the scent of fear prickling in the air and Sam offered his mate a breathy smile to hopefully alleviate some of that worry in his face. 

“I want to… try something.” He managed to get out. Dean was eyeing him quizzically but Sam couldn’t just tell him, it was too embarrassing and Sam wouldn’t put teasing past Dean.

He focused on their bond, tightly woven from what must be an unbreakable material. Sam let himself be pulled by the invisible connection. He hoped this would work.

There.

He felt that double feeling- that blind area of their bond where their feelings were so blended it was impossible to tell who was who. It was that same feeling they had had when they had first bonded. Admittedly, it was a bit disorienting but he could manage.

“Okay, Sammy. What are you doing?”

Had that been said out loud? He wasn’t sure. He opened his eyes but kept hold of that feeling of togetherness, of wholeness, of something so impossible to explain and he knew Dean was feeling everything as well.

It was hesitant, he wasn’t really even sure if it was him doing it or Sam but his hand coated with slick grabbed hold of his shaft and started pumping.

“Holy shit…” Dean muttered and Sam’s hand was going for his own erection. The pleasure was blurring between who was feeling what until it was nothing more than them. The world didn’t exist anymore. Sam and Dean and this uncontrolled, flaming ball of emotions consuming them. Beyond love… perfection. The delirium reeked of Sam’s potent slick and it was so much all at once.

Dean came back to himself like the snape of a rubber band and there was Sam below him, panting as if he had run a marathon- then again, so was Dean. 

“You were right… our bond is fucking weird, Sam.”

“Dean.” Sam breathed and the alpha got the picture. He guided himself to Sam’s entrance and pushed in slowly. Hot muscles convulsed around him, devouring every inch that slid in through the slick.

That thing that they had done, the merging thing? It had left every inch of Dean tingling. Hot and heavy. He made love to Sam real slow. The slow in and out, the subtle pop as his not fully expanded knot slipped in and out of his mate’s entrance.

Sam cam in Dean’s hand and pulled the alpha down to lick and suck at his throat possessively. He growled despite liking Sam’s aggressive nips. Alpha instincts warning the omega that it was his job to do the biting, the marking, the claiming. Sam rolled his hips into Dean’s knot that caught, held on, then slipped back out. He was sure that if he tried to get it back inside Sam it would barely make it in and he’d no doubt be spilling his load into the omega.

“I want to bite you, Dean.” It was little above a breathy moan but Dean heard it loud and clear. Omegas couldn’t… leave claim marks, could they? The idea of Sam biting him was hot as hell, though. 

“Do it, Sammy.” He gritted out and pushed himself back inside of his mate as hard as he could. Sam gave a small “ah!” But that didn’t stop him from digging his teeth into Dean’s neck.

His knot hadn’t gone in so he thrusted harshly into Sam four more times trying to push it past the swollen red ring of muscles. Finally, on the fourth attempt it slid in. 

Sam cam for a second time with a cry as he pulled back from the bite he left on Dean, the delicious tug of the knot. Warm strings of semen filling him. He felt his mate’s hand move to his stomach and a sudden sadness over took him. The test had been negative, he had told Dean as much and the alpha had just shrugged it off… but Sam wondered, wondered if Dean’s indifference was for Sam’s sake… that maybe Dean did want a kid.

Gentle licks were pressed into Dean’s wond. It wasn’t a bond mark but it was still an obvious mark declaring that this alpha was taken and that satisfied Sam.

“Well, that was hot as fuck.” Dean declared after catching his breath. He groaned as another stream of cum spilled out into Sam. A crooked grin spreading out on his face as he felt the bite mark on his neck. It hurt like a motherfucker but he wasn’t knocking it. 

“Didn’t know you’d be so kinky. I’m diggin’ it.”

The blush on the omega’s face had Dean’s heart jumping. He went to lean in for a kiss but Sam push his face back. “Shut up.” “Eh wostn’ sayin mothin!” Dean said into Sam’s hand then licked his palm. That surprisingly made Sam laugh. He wiped the saliva on Dean’s cheek and gave him a quick smooch.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“But I’m your sexy idiot.”

Sam laughed again. “Yeah, sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned I love writing dorky fluffs? I haven’t? Oh, well, obviously this story is jammed pack with dorky fluff...


	47. A Special Kiss

This… Well, Castiel didn’t know what to make of it. 

His landlord, a crazy but reasonable man most of the time, showed up at his door just after he had gotten home from an unreasonably frustrating day at the office. The landlord had, his customary stained tank top on and sweat as thick as flat top’s grease perpetually standing in his receding hairline… but the baseball bat was new to his look.

Castiel didn’t know what to make of his sudden threat to ‘vacate from the premises within the next five hours or I’m gonna call the cops!’ He had pleaded with the man, reminded him of what a good tenant he had been over the years. But the older man was a stubborn alpha and wouldn’t hear any of it. 

One thing that the beta had found extremely useful about being on the edge of poverty is limited belongings. The food in the fridge, well, despite his hate for waste he was going to have to leave it behind. 

Dean would undoubtedly let him stay at his place but he didn’t want to get in the way. He didn’t understand it much but both Sam and Dean had entered into, what he could explain as, ‘The honeymoon phase’ of their relationship. All either one of them seemed to do was each other. He smiled at that last thought and wished he could have said it to Dean, he was sure his friend would have appreciated his brief, witty line.

He meandered for a while. Unsure what he should do with the sudden eviction, then when his head had cleared he went to his room and grabbed the old, ratty luggage bag he had blown into Lawrence with and began piling his clothes in it. If worse came to worse he would spend a night at a shelter like he had before- hopefully it wouldn’t stretch out into a few weeks or even months as it had been back then.

Maybe he could find a new place…

Maybe he could ask Crowley for a raise so he could find a place where the prostitutes didn’t cry just as loud as their babies and the landlord didn’t threaten you with a baseball bat.

It would have to all come in a few trips, he would dump the luggage in the trunk of his Lincoln Continental and then start bringing the other things; blankets, books, his coffee mug-

He had been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed the figure leaning against his car. Castiel stopped dead in his tracks twenty or so feet from his car and stared at his all too smug looking boss.

“Feathers.” Crowley purred in the form of greeting. Castiel was not amused. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this angry. He felt like screaming. Instead, he dropped his bag to the floor and sent the alpha a fierce glare.

“You have something to do with my late night eviction, don’t you?” His voice was far too calm for the anger inside him but he couldn’t bring himself to raise his voice right now. The alpha gave a little shrug and his smile widened “Guilty as charged, love.”

There was a moment of silence in which Castiel debated calling Dean so he could let his alpha friend rip out his boss’ throat like he always wanted to. He settled on doing it himself.

“What even goes through your mind? Do you just like to see me suffer, Crow-“

“Watching you suffer is a bonus, but I’m here because my mate thinks it’s alright to have his own, dingy dump of an apartment when I, the alpha, have accommodations already for him.” There was a snarl of anger in Crowley’s voice but Castiel wasn’t scared… he was, however, very very confused about the wording- or rather the meaning behind what the alpha had said.

Then it hit him. In his own Crowley way, which involved eluding to and never saying things that he meant directly, he was asking- no, no, no. Forcing was a more appropriate word- forcing Castiel to move in with him, to be his mate.

That really shouldn’t have made the beta’s heart soar like it did. Crowley was looking at him impatiently but he had a feeling that it was actually the alpha trying to cover up some underlying worry. This was, after all, probably the most he had ever opened up to a person.

“I thought you just liked…” he trail off there and Crowley sighed, looking off to some point in the night sky as if recalling a memory “The sex? It is surprisingly good between you and I, isn’t it?” Then looking back to the beta with an exasperated expression, “I’m not going to spell it out to you but do you honestly think I make a habit of paying for random people’s schooling?- do you really think that I, would put this much effort into keeping you if I didn’t desire you? I marked you, didn’t I?”

“Sam told me you also marked a prostitute when you were drunk.” the beta narrowed his eyes. “I’ve thought long and hard about the fact that you and I had sex while you were still married-“ “Only in paper.” The alpha clarified but Castiel went on as if he hadn’t heard it. “I am… far from a saint, but at least I’m not as fiendish as you.”

“Remind me to beat my lawyer with a Mace later.” Crowley grunted and took a few steps towards the beta “You want to live in your car? Fine. But don’t start preaching to me about how I made you feel dirty. If I recall, you liked it so much you were begging me for mo-“ 

“I did like it.”

That made Crowley pause, they were now only three feet apart and Castiel could feel the heat practicality radiating off the alpha. Even in the late fall with snow soon to be falling. The bond mark on his neck duly tingled. He looked over the alpha’s shoulder, not quite ready to meet his eyes but then he forced himself to.

“I do like it.”

Castiel didn’t fight it when the alpha closed the gap between them and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. The beta couldn’t stop himself from smiling into the kiss. Something like giddiness was settling in. This was a special kiss. It stood for the words Crowley couldn’t tell him and as Castiel kissed back he put all the emotions he felt for his boss into it. The hate, the confusion, that aching he didn’t know how to name yet… it was perfect.

They trailed back to Castiel’s car. The old, beaten luggage case toppled on its back right in the middle of the sidewalk in the not so safe neighborhood. Castiel only payed that thought mind for a fraction of a second before his thoughts were on the heat- of the overwhelming pain when his head collided with the lip of the doorframe as Crowley pushed him down into the backseat. He thought about what he was doing yet again with this devilish man.

Had he not heard the endless chanting in his head to stay away from Crowley?

He had ignored them. Because, wow… he actually loved the man- not despite his inability to voice his own emotions but because he was Crowley. The man who had saved him from his life on the streets, who had cared enough to get him housing, schooling, and a job. Sure, he was an absolute asshole but Castiel couldn’t really imagine his mate being any different.

It was best not to think about it, he decided some time between ripping his own worn, blue wool jacket off and letting out a breathy sigh. One thing, if he had learned anything about his boss through this chaotic affair, was that he actually liked when Castiel played hard to get. At first, Castiel hadn’t thought much of it- thought that, if anything, the growls of impatience were hate from being denied all access passes to inside his pants. It had only recently started to click that Crowley loved a tease, though he would never admit it.

Castiel, however, couldn’t bring himself to deny his boss from pushing his back into the handle of the other door and shoved his legs apart. It was so easy to just give in and let his mate take over- Crowley was good, he was reluctant to admit it, there was no denying his best orgasms had been with him.

“Crowley.” He had meant it as a firm warning to stop but it had come out more of a call to come nearer. The alpha snickered, bent over him in an awkward slouch. The shoulders of his suit jacket were tight as he moved in ways business wear was not designed. His eyes looked so dark, like twin abysses drilled into his head. 

An unknown feeling was filling Castiel at the sight. There was, the expected glint of lust stirring in his slacks… but there was something more about it he couldn’t figure out.

Crowley shucked off his jacket as he placed kisses all up the beta’s neck. Castiel work his pants off and he was given a moan of approval from his boss who gave up on undressing from his white button down and dress pants. The car was too tight for that. Instead, he just tugged his zipper down and pulled out the heated flesh of his member.

Fingers were brought up to Castiel’s lips and he didn’t question it. He opened his mouth and sucked of the alpha’s fingers. Lathering each of the fingers as his locked eyes with Crowley. He loved the way those black eyes watched him with utter fascination.

When the alpha decided that his fingers were slick enough, he pushed his mate’s legs further apart and started to slowly work his fingers into the hot heat of his entrance. Castiel was always real quiet during sex until he was close to his climax in which he made the most erotic noises. That was okay with Crowley because it was those open expression of vulnerability, of sheer pleasure, the flush of Castiel’s cheeks as he screwed his eyes shut and focused on the feel of Crowley working him open that the alpha loved to see.

The moment his fingers slipped free from his mate’s entrance he gave his own cock a good jerk or two, rubbing the remaining spit over himself, and then he was pushing into Castiel. 

“Move.” Castiel managed through a shaky breath and Crowley listened. If the alpha was ever the most agreeable it was when he was knot deep inside him. The pace was brutal and the car squeaked as it shook with the power of the thrusts. Anyone that happened to see the car would know exactly what was going on inside. Not that the people of this neighborhood would care much. It was a pretty frequent occurrence, actually.

“When you live with me, this will be so much easier.” The alpha rumbled in Cas’ ear before taking the lobe into his mouth, biting at it as his hips jerked wildly in and out of the beta who assumed Crowley was referring to fucking being easier. Which was true, since their sex life had been in and on the furthest things from a bed. The idea of not being fucked against something that would leave a bruise made Castiel sigh dreamily. Maybe living with Crowley wasn’t such a bad idea.

A moan made its way from the beta’s lips as the alpha hit his prostate dead on. He was getting close. The feeling of Crowley’s knot smashing against his entrance, unable to fit inside him was proof that his alpha was almost there with him.

Then, Crowley reached between them and fisted Castiel’s dripping cock at such a rough, quick pumps. He cried out loudly and pulled the alpha down to him and kissed him as he released into the rough hand. Crowley cursed into to his mouth the growled as he slammed harder into him. He wanted his knot inside but when he cam his knot was snug against the hole, and he guessed that was good enough for this time.

The beta laid in a mess of afterglow. Everything from the waist down now twitching and humming with the effects of a satisfying orgasm. The concept of rubbed raw flesh and nasty bruises forming on his back from being pounded into against a very unforgiving door was not yet connecting to his brain.

Crowley had sat up. His button down wrinkled messily, face flushed, and hair sticking up in all directions. He tucked his spent cock back into his pants and looked to where the beta still half laid, half sat with his legs parted. Semen on his own button up and droplets rolling steadily out of his raw entrance. It wasn’t much, what with the alpha not being able to push his knot inside of the beta without splitting him. Crowley wondered if he spent some more time preparing the beta if he would be able to fill him but tucked that away for later experimentation when Castiel muttered something.

“I suppose you did that because you want me to move in with you.” It was flat, maybe a bit horse but there was something almost unsure about it. The beta’s emotions were always much more apparent after sex.

“The sex was because I wanted to. The hand job, now… you could say that was just my way of sweetening the deal.” He sounded so cocky. It annoyed Castiel. so, he said the first thing that came to mind.

“Ask me again but this time, say pretty-please and I may consider your proposal, Crowley.” It later would be embarrassing that he had let himself say that but in that moment he was still climbing down from cloud nine and the idea of getting the alpha to say something like that was the funniest thing.

There was a flash of emotions. Anger had been prevalent, so had surprise. Then, Crowley looked as though he was both annoyed and amused. An odd mix.

“I had no idea you could be sadistic. I had pegged you as, well, a through and through masochist. It will be some fun discovering what else you’re hiding from me, angel.” 

When that didn’t draw a raise from Castiel he sighed reluctantly “Castiel Novak. Will you move in with me indefinitely pretty please.” 

“Well, since you’re asking so nicely…” 

There was that weird feeling again, settling into Castiel’s chest when there was a sudden appearance a brief smile on his mate’s face. Love. He was in love with his boss.

Crowley… really wasn’t so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yay~ this is the last fully CrowleyxCastiel chapter but their relationship development shall be mentioned here and there throughout the rest of the story. 
> 
> And yes, Crowley is a twat and is never going to be anything but a twat.


	48. Road Trip

Road trips had become something of a bittersweet memorial to the times on the road with John. Dean tended to stay away from long trips in baby, especially as of recently.

Left alone with the memories usually led him to some random bar, which, in turn, led him to some random bed, own by a he or she he couldn’t put a name to. He hadn’t hooked up with anyone because now he had Sam and that was all he needed… but going cold turkey when it came to drinking was proving to be pretty difficult.

John had been trying to get a hold of him but Dean hadn’t been responding. He was beginning to realize that even if he himself wasn’t doing the crimes, the fact that he knew what was going on made him an accessory. Also, he knew for a fact his dad would have a shit if he knew Dean had bonded with an omega and he wasn’t so sure he could keep himself from punching his dad if he said anything bad about Sam. 

Now, he could at least breathe a sigh of slight relief by the fact that John had finally gotten the message and stopped texting and calling. Dean doubted his father would stay away for good but he could at least enjoy the vacation from bad thoughts and yelling. 

The bliss of Sam being his mate was amazing- really made him forget all his worries and fears.. but now those thoughts from before Sam were rolling in and he was itching for a drink. The voice of his father during one of his dad’s drunken speeches was nailed into his skull “You and I, Dean. We can’t have mates. All you’d ever do is hurt them- and you can’t help it. It’s just how we Winchesters are. That’s why you gotta stay away from all that shit. You’d only fuck up everybody’s lives, you wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Dean had been fourteen when his father had told him that and somehow it stuck- stuck on real tight. He had believed that he would hurt everyone if he tried to get close to them.

Sam was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, his forehead resting on the cold glass. Dean could see Sam’s eyes reflected in the window when he glanced briefly over to him. He was taking in the slow change of scenery out his window and the alpha felt an impulse to reach out and take Sam’s hand clutching a book in his lap but he didn’t. 

They had set out on the road at eleven in the morning and wouldn’t be arriving at Bobby’s until some time after four in the afternoon. Dean was hoping that at the very least, they would beat the storm that was right on their tail and promised heavy rain.

They both had been… somewhat moody. Sam had snapped at Dean when he tried to make one of his corny jokes and had apologized almost instantly with the excuse of being tired and sore. The soreness, being Dean’s fault for the most part. But of course, with the ideas his father had instilled in him practically screaming in his head, Dean had used Sam’s little snap as an example of how he wasn’t good enough for Sam. Of how Sam was already unhappy with him as a mate.

It was strangling Dean. They were only two hours into their trip and the alpha wanted to get out of the car. Get away from Sam and thoughts about his father for awhile- a drink. Yeah, a nice little glass of whiskey on ice would really be helpful at the moment- maybe even two- little ones wouldn’t be overdoing it. He just needed something, something stronger than Aerosmith to drowned out the bullshit of his thoughts.

Then that distraction came. Sam grabbed hold of Dean’s thigh, harshly. The alpha glanced over at his mate about to ask what was wrong but the moment he saw Sam’s face, as white as a sheet and he knew. He signaled, letting the big rig behind them know that he was pulling off to the side of the road. The second he put baby in park Sam threw opened his door and let the contents of his stomach spill out on the gravel.

Dean gave a sigh of relief that it had made it out of the car as he offered a soothing hand on Sam’s back, rubbing at the tight muscles there. After a minute or so, Sam stopped heaving up his guts and just sat there, hunched over the door frame. Dean moved into action and opened the glove compartment, he rummaged briefly then pulled out a few brown napkins from various fast food stops a while back and handed them to Sam over his shoulder.

“Thanks.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, fine. I probably should have warned you I get car sick.”

Dean searched around for some gum, maybe a mint- just something to cut through the taste. He knew from experience that if you left the taste in your mouth you were bound to throw up again. When he couldn’t find what he was looking for he handed Sam his water bottle. 

“You really shouldn’t have been reading a book, man.” He held the book up as evidence and Sam groan as he turned back. A grimace was on his face for a moment then he took two big gulps of water and the expression eased.

“Never made me carsick before.” He mumbled stubbornly and closed his door. “Yeah, well, I doubt you’ve ever tried to read a book in a car with a suspension like baby’s; She’s the sweetest thing on fresh pavement but on roads that are as rigid as this, she ain’t so gentle.”

“Right, I’ll keep that in mind.” Sam said with the roll of his eyes.

They got on the road but about a half an hour later they made a quick stop at a Biggerson’s drive thru. Dean got a burger and a shake and Sam had refused to eat, saying something to the effect of not wanting to pour grease into his already upset stomach. Dean nonetheless bought his mate a burger for if he got hungry later.

Conversation hung in the air for a large portion on the trip after lunch and those pesky thoughts of Dean’s were muddled by Sam recalling his brief run in with the cops when he was in high school. Something about happening to look like another guy at school who was a known dealer and his mom coming to his school and giving the police officers an earful for even putting her son in handcuffs without checking who he was. Dean could imagine Mary doing as much and that made him laugh. Then, of course, he had made a insinuation that he’d love to see the omega in handcuffs which earned him an unimpressed glare from Sam.

The storm had caught up to them by four and headlights and windshield wipers were switched on. The avid story swapping or heavy speculation of whether Benny was seeing someone simmered out but this time Dean welcomed it companionable silence. He had to remind himself that he was worthy of being Sam’s alpha sometimes. The omega’s hand had come to rest in his comfortably interlocked on the leather bench of the car. And he supposed that was enough proof that it wasn’t just him that wanted this.

Bobby’s place was more or less exactly as Dean had described it to be. There stood a relatively small house amongst what had to be at least a quarter of an acre of rusted, beat up cars. Rain pelted and clicked off of all the medals and Sam noted that he liked the look of the warm yellow glow through the windows. It promised warmth and he was down for that.

Dean parked under a small two car carport. A truck was parked in the other spot and Sam assumed it was Bobby’s daily driver. The last truck he saw that looked like that was…

The alleyway man. The man who had almost got him in his truck- had almost sold him.

“Sam.”

He flinched at the interruption of his thoughts and looked to Dean. The alpha would have questioned the scent of fear Sam was putting out if he wasn’t producing it himself but for a much different reason. Dean looked up to Bobby, he was more of a father to him than his actual father was. It had been uncle Bobby who had given him a few weeks of the year to be a normal kid, to take fishing, to watch tv with. Sometimes Dean would piss his dad off just to be dropped off at Bobby’s for a week while his father tried to rein in his anger over Dean, also to be pissy about his half brother telling him off for roughing Dean up.

If anything good had come out of his mother leaving them, it had been Bobby. John and him had had a falling out way back before John had even met Dean’s mother. but Dean’s father had been desperate and had reached out to Bobby. It had made the younger alpha laugh when his uncle had told him that story; that the only reason He agreed to get back in contact with his punkass half brother was because John had told him he was an uncle out of the blue and Bobby would be a heartless bastard if he turned away a kid that was at least a quarter of his blood. 

Bobby was family and Dean loved him. He also loved Sam and he wanted so desperately for Bobby to like his mate.

He looked at the omega, who looked pale again, and smiled. “Grab your bag, Sammy. Time to go say howdy.”

It was as if Sam’s body kept moving without his brain which stayed frozen in place. The bliss of being with Dean had almost made him forget about the alley man. He had told his mate,right? Right. Dean knew and he had promised to keep him safe. His instincts scoffed at the very idea of thinking about it now. Lawrence was hours away from them now and he doubted that the alleyway man would be looking for him out here. Hopefully, he wasn’t looking for him at all.

“You just gonna sit there or are you coming?” Dean called over the roar of rain. Sam finally refocused. He didn’t want to make this trip sour. With a mental heave, Sam managed to get himself up and moving as Dean had.

They carried their bags up to the porch with them and gave the door a good round of knocks then waited. Even with heavy, water resistant jackets, they could feel the chill of the rain on their skin. Dean wouldn’t be surprised if the rain turned to snow in a hour or so.

After a minute a shadow came across the door window, blocking out more and more of the yellow glow of light inside the closer the owner of the house approached the door.

Then, it opened and there stood Dean’s uncle Bobby. Faded hat tilted back on his head, reddish brown hair, and the most calculative stare Sam had ever seen. The older alpha looked Sam over for a brief moment then stepped aside to let them in.

Sam gave an involuntary sigh when the door was closed and the warmth of the house started to bring some heat back into his freezing skin.

Dean drew his uncle into a tight hug. It had been too long for no reason. Bobby hugged back just as tightly then they pulled apart. Bobby took a few steps backwards and looked between the two. 

Sam cleared his throat and offered a smile “Hi, I’m Sam Campbell.” Bobby scented the air subtlety and whatever he scented on him earned him a pair of wide eyes that turned incredulously on Dean.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He extended a hand to Sam and the omega shook it. Smiles spread across both or their faces “It’s great to meet you, Sam.” “Likewise, sir.” Bobby rolled his eyes at that “I ain’t no ‘sir’. Just call me Bobby.” When they pulled away from each other, he gestured to the rest of the house. “We best not just stand here in the entryway. Guest room’s upstairs. You boys should drop off your bags then come back down. I got chili on the stove, biscuits in the oven, and Budweiser in the fridge.”

“Man, I missed you, Bobby.”

Dean guided Sam upstairs and to the the guest room. They dropped their bags off on the bed and Sam took a moment to look around. ‘Dean was here’ was carved into one leg of the bed and Sam had a feeling Bobby had given younger Dean an earful for carving up such a nice bed frame.

There was almost an overwhelming smell of dust in the room and Sam guessed Bobby didn’t know his mother’s two day rule to preparing for guests that clearly said ‘don’t air out a room the day the guests come over or all the dust will be kicked up by when they get there. Airing it out two days in advance lets the dust settle a bit without collecting in clumps yet.’

The whole of Bobby’s house was very nostalgic feeling for Dean. There was this gleam of joy in his eyes that Sam found himself oddly envious of. Well, it was probably because Dean had lots of friends and family he could come to. Sam had his mom… but he hadn’t felt at home with her since she started to date Ketch. Visits to his mom had become check ups, making sure she wasn’t getting hurt or hurting herself. Here with Bobby, Dean could laugh and joke and talk about what was happening in his life without censorship. No need to omit the things that would upset his uncle. And for that, Sam was just a tad bit jealous despite telling himself over and over in his head that families were different and that it didn’t matter that Dean had more support. He had Dean’s support, didn’t he? And wasn’t that really all he needed? Yes, yes it was. 

“Bobby, this chili is amazing.” Sam said after a spoonful or two of The bowl Dean had sat in front of him. And the biscuits smelt like warmth. He had to try one. without even conscious consideration, Dean put one on Sam’s plate.

“Flattery ain’t gonna get you much with me. Besides, I didn’t make it, Shariff Jody did.”

“Oh, I get it.” Dean teased with a knowing look tossed at his uncle, who, in turn, gave him an unimpressed glare “You don’t get shit.” The younger alpha raised his hands in defense “Hey, all I’m sayin’ is she’s into you, you’re in denial but you like her too.”

“Let’s just drop this, okay? Besides, aren’t you here to tell me all about you and your mate?” the alpha looked to Sam with a smile. It was a comforting smile and it just naturally settled on his face. Sam decided he liked Bobby. He wasn’t an asshole and he also wasn’t treating him ‘like an omega should be treated’ but like a human being and he really appreciated that.

“So, what do you do for a livin’, Sam?” 

“I’m a lawyer.” 

Bobby looked to Dean in surprise.

“You bonded with a lawyer? You? What, did he keep you outta jail?”

“What? No! I didn’t do nothin’ wrong. Sammy just came into the bar I work at and we hit it off beautifully.”

Well, no we really didn’t. Sam thought and Dean must’ve caught the tail end of the thought because he gave Sam a look who just shrugged.

Bobby watched the silent exchange with a hint of curiosity but when it had past he continued “You keepin’ Dean out of trouble, Sam? Because I don’t know what you have or haven’t heard about but this guy’s got a record of bein’ an idjit like his father.”

Sam smiled at that. ‘Idjit’ huh? “For the most part, I guess.”

Besides when you told me to break into your parents house that one time.

Sam ignored Dean’s tug on the bond and Bobby took a swig of his beer “Well, you have my personal permission to kick him square in the ass if he goes and does somethin’ stupid again.”

“What gives you the right to tell my mate to kick me in ass?” Dean asked in what sounded like betrayal but Bobby was not swayed. “Because I wiped that ass of yours clean when you had poop all up your back- god knows how you managed that.” “I was a baby!” Dean defended and Bobby leaned towards Sam “He was five.” And Sam laughed because this was payback, payback for the ugly high school haircuts Dean had laughed at with Sam’s mom. And oh how he was he loving it.

Dean stood up from the table with a growl of “I need another beer.”

They talked with Bobby for sometime. After dinner and good amount of joking a Dean’s expense they had moved into the living room and watched Bonanza (seeing that Bobby had all the seasons on VHS shed some light on Dean’s love for the old western for Sam)

It was around eleven when Bobby gave a sigh and turned the tv off. Dean stretched, dislodging Sam’s head from it's resting on Dean’s arm over the top of the couch. Bobby got up and went to one the windows to peer out at the darkness. “Still rainin’. But that whether lady on channel four said tomorrow will be as cold as Frosty the snowman’s balls. At least it won’t be raining or snowin’ or whatever.”

“The weather lady said it will be as cold as Frosty the snowman’s balls?” Sam ask with amusement and Bobby shrugged “something like that.”

Sam was really starting to understand that this wasn’t Dean’s uncle, this was Dean’s real father. So many mannerisms or ways of saying things Dean had been doing since Sam met him four months ago now made perfect sense. He had learned it from Bobby.

“We ought to hit the hay. What’re you doin’ tomorrow, Bobby?”

“Fixing the El Camino Rufus has been driving ‘round like a jackass for the last two months. It’s a pile of junk if you ask me but he has his heart stuck on fixin’ it up despite how many times I tell him it’s a money pit.” He shook his head and started for the stairs but not before calling over his shoulder. 

“You both are welcome to do whatever you want but if you’re willin’ I wouldn’t complain if you two could help me with some things tomorrow.”

“Sure, Bobby. Anything you need us to do.” Sam offered and Dean gave him a look as if to say ‘are you batshit crazy or something?’ Then Bobby called from the top of the stairs “Good. Cause I haven’t cleaned out the storm drain up on the roof at all this year and the runoff is starting to smell like death.”

Yeah… Sam had kinda walked himself into that one.

Dean sighed as he tucked his head into Sam’s neck and took a deep breath. The bed was smaller than Sam’s bed and the room was outstandingly cold but the blanket was thick and kept their shard heat close to their bodies. Dean pressed soft kisses into Sam’s neck. One thing that Sam had picked up on Dean’s habits after they had become mates was that his alpha always became an extreme cuddler when they laid down for sleep. 

Neither of them were really into public displays of affection save for the occasional kiss (on the cheek most often) and affectionate arm slung over the shoulder but despite his tough guy look, Sam’s alpha was way into cuddling him- almost smothering him in the process. 

Sam pushed back against Dean’s chest as he tried to get comfortable and he blurted into the hushed room. “I like your uncle.”

“Bobby is pretty great.” Dean agreed with a smile in his tired voice.

“Do you think… your dad would like me?”

There was a pause and Sam could scent the cool scent of guilt in the air “No… my dad doesn’t like anybody I like. And he’s a complete asshole to omega’s. I think it would be better if you never met him, honestly.”

“Are you going to tell him about me when he comes to Lawrence next time?”

So far that hadn’t happened and Dean was crossing his fingers in the hope that his father would give up on trying to keep in contact with him. “There’s no way he wouldn’t know from the scent of a bonded omega on me.”

There was silence for a while and then Dean kissed Sam’s neck again “Sorry.”

“Dean, you don’t need to apologize for your dad. He sounds like someone I’d like to punch in the face a few times and he’s nothing like you.”

“Let’s just stop talking about him, kay?”

“Okay.”

“Night, Sammy. I love you.”

“Love you too.”


	49. Up At 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late update. Fell asleep again. I still will be posting tomorrow at the regular time (hopefully) 
> 
> Enjoy!

Sam woke up with a jolt. The sound of someone running in hallway sounding like bomb explosions compared to the absolute silence that had filled the house moments before. He had just enough time to register that Dean wasn’t in the bed with him and then propped himself up just before a teenage alpha girl was bursting into the room.

She paused in the doorway looking him over as she tucked her wavy blond hair behind her ear. “Well look at you…” she muttered. It sounded like a mock and had Sam straightening more. He was on the verge of asking who she was when a woman’s voice shouted from downstairs.

“Claire, you better not be waking him up!”

The girl rolled her eyes and yelled back “I’m not! He was already awake!”

Sam was not feeling good. As his body and mind stirred awake his stomach gave a lurch, his tongue watered in an all too familiar way.

“What’s wrong with you?” The girl- Claire, asked indifferently as Sam tossed the blankets off his body and clutched his stomach. He ignored her and went straight for the guest bathroom which he was suddenly so grateful for even though he had silently complained about the way the toilet had run all night.

And there was the lurch that tipped him over the edge.

Claire walked slowly over to the opening of the bathroom and watched as the omega heaved his stomach dry. When he sat back with sigh and his eyes screwed shut, she butted in “Are you pregnant or something?”

…

Sam’s eyelids suddenly didn’t seem so heavy and he imagined they must’ve looked like window shutters snapping up in an old cartoon. “No, why?” He didn’t know his reason for asking a teenage alpha why she thought he was pregnant when he obviously knew what she was associating; throwing up first thing in the morning? Morning sickness, duh. She shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms.

“Geez, I was only messing with you. Calm down, you’re stinking this room up with your worry.”

Sam stood up, flushed the toilet and splashed some water from the sink on his face. God, he looked haggard. He needed a shave.

The teen- ‘Claire’ he reminded himself- was watching him carefully and Sam looked over at her with an awkward smile that faltered.

“Well, that was a bad introduction.”

“What part? When you jumped up out of bed in your underwear and a tee? Or was it when you threw up?” Sam couldn’t help but give a puff of a laugh “I’m Sam.”

She narrowed her eyes but untucked one of her hands and offered him it, which he took. “Claire.” She pulled her hand back and started to turn towards the the bedroom door.

“Jody brought me along- I don’t know about you, but I am not a morning person. Anyways, she made pancakes so if you want any before their gone you should get dressed and come down stairs.”

With that she left, leaving the door wide open. Sam gave a sigh and looked at the nightstand clock for the time. It was seven in the morning and already these people were this awake? On a weekend? Dean too? 

Thoughts started to bubble and fester in his head bringing him back to think about his sudden sickness. But it wasn’t just a sudden sickness, was it? Because he felt absolutely fine now. His hands instinctively went to his flat stomach, working his fingers with gentle pressure over the skin, he felt around for… something. He didn’t know what really, but whatever it was, wasn’t there.

Sam hadn’t been to a doctor or a dentist, or really any person whose job is to get up in your personal space, in nearly three years and he felt self conscious and worried to go in for something like this. Nevertheless, he would have to set up an appointment to see a doctor. Luckily, nowadays it was almost unheard of having an alpha as an omega’s doctor- especially when dealing with pregnancies. But Sam knew better than anyone that having a beta could turn into serious risks just as an alpha if in the presence of strong pheromones. So, he would be extra precarious when seatskseaechibf for a ne

After getting dressed and shaving in nearly record time, Sam went downstairs. Claire and another teenage girl (this one a beta) were sitting on the couch. The tv across from them was on the local news but neither of them were watching it, both too absorbed in their own phones to pay attention to much else.

“Hi, you must be Sam.” The omega turned and saw an older alpha woman drying her hands with a rag as she approached him. She was smiling a lot like Bobby had, very warm, maybe even a bit affectionately.

“Dean’s told me about you.” Sam was surprised when she hugged him but it wasn’t an unwelcome hug. When she pulled back Sam gave her a smile “You must be Jody.”

“Ah. My reputation precedes me.” She gave a nod and then gestured to the girls on the couch “These are my girls. You probably already know Claire- sorry about that. And that’s Alex.”

Alex looked up from her phone and eyed Sam “I always thought male omegas were supposed to be short.” “And not so hairy.” Claire added and Jody’s smile became a thin line. She looked the picture of steely anger. The girls both gave a sigh and muttered unenthusiastically “Sorry.” Before disappearing into their phones again.

Jody guided Sam into the kitchen and sat a stack of pancakes in front of him. “Bobby told me Dean was bringing his mate up with him on his visit and I got so nervous. I was scared you were going to be… not good.” She took a seat down across from Sam and drank her coffee with a smile in her eyes. When she sat the cup down she continued “But seeing you I can already tell, you’re a good person. Your scent just has this pureness to it, you know?”

Sam swallowed a bite of the deliciously fluffy buttermilk pancakes a couldn’t help his face from flushing at the complement “I’m definitely not a great person, though.” she shook her head despite the smile that was spreading. “And That right there proves it. Too modest to even take a compliment? C’mon kid, don’t sell yourself short.””

She looked at her wrist watch and sighed “I'll have to take the girls to school soon. I’ll come back to help Dean with a carport roof- wind ripped it off last night- then I’ll have to go to work. Claire will probably get a ride back here after school. I’ll try to make it for dinner tonight because I don’t want to miss you boys if you’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

“Claire likes hanging out here, huh?” Jody shrugged “eh, not so much but Dean’s always been kinda like an older brother to her since I became her and Alex’s foster parent when they were younger. She would deny it if you asked her, but she really looks up to him.” “And Alex?” Jody shook her head “Alex has always been more into makeup and gossip so their personalities don’t really mix as well as Claire and his- There was this one time, where Dean helped her catch frogs in the creak over by my house- not telling me, of course- and that little brat- Dean, gave Claire the smart idea to put her frog in my bath. Oh, I swear I could’ve strangled the two of them on several occasions like that.”

Sam sighed, taking another bite “Sounds like something he would do. He’s started picking the lock to my apartment whenever I’m not home and has nearly given me an aneurysm a couple of times.”

Jody’s eyebrow drew together in confusion “Wait, so you two aren’t living together?”

Sam looked to the side awkwardly “Yeah, we started looking at maybe buying a house last week- I donno, sometimes I think things are moving too fast and that something bad is gonna happen if we just fly into stuff like that.”

“May I ask how long you two have been seeing each other?” Sam bit his lip “Officially? About three months.” He left out the part about the being bonded for even a shorter amount of time. The alpha almost choked on her coffee “Seriously?” “Yeah?”

“The way you two talk about each other had me thinkin’ you had been together for at least two years. oh my-“ she calmed herself and took one of his hands in hers atop the small dining room table “Honey, you two have _plenty_ of time to figure things out. Dean’s stubborn and when he wants something he wants it now but don’t make any rushed decisions that make you uncomfortable just to make him happy. Put that boy in his place.”

Their conversation switched gears after that, they talked briefly about her job at the police station and then her watch had beeped and she had said her goodbyes as she took her daughters to school.

Sam had gone to look for Dean, then. The yard was a little maze-like but Dean had nudged the bond and Sam had followed the strange sixth sense and had found himself standing outside of a workshop. Bobby had his flannel rolled up to his elbows despite it being below forty degrees and his hands were messing with something where the wheels were supposed to go. It was the El Camino Bobby had talked about the night before. He had removed all four wheels and the body was up on cement slabs. Dean was sitting in the torn, leather drivers seat.

“Pump the brake three more times then hold it.” 

Sam approached just as Bobby was given Dean a thumbs up and calling “Okay, we’re good.” His alpha saw him and a warmth spread across Sam’s face when his mate’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. 

“Mornin’ Sammy. Meet Jody and her girls?”

“Yeah- Hey, why didn’t you wake me up?” Dean came over to him taking a pair of gloves off. That simple action shouldn’t have been so appealing to Sam. “I thought you’d like sleeping in. Bobby had me up at five.”

“Stop complaining. Now that you’re up, you two can grab the pair of leaf blowers in the shed and get rid of the little dead son of a bitches that stupid aspen tree’s been droppin’ all over the place. When you finished with that we can take a break.” Bobby called as he wiped brake fluid from his hands. Dean rolled his eyes “Gee, tell us how you really feel about them leaves, Bobby.”

Dean cocked his head in the direction of the shed and Sam followed close behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot has happened in these last two chapters and a lot more to come. There will be three more chapters at Bobby’s house I think so I’m calling it (in my head mostly) “The Bobby’s House arch” of the story. Hope you enjoyed this and look forward to more!


	50. It’s More of an Observation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, late again. But here ya go. Enjoy~

They had taken a break for a while. Dean and Bobby had passed a flask back and forth as they talked but Sam had said something about drinking in the morning being a sign of addiction and had passed. Dean hadn’t thought much of it. 

When Jody had returned the four of them had carried the large sheet metal roof of the carport back over to where it was supposed to go. Jody and Dean got up onto two ladders and started screwing in new rivets to hold it in place while Sam and Bobby kept the ladders from moving.

“So I got a question for ya boys… well, it’s more an observation but uh, somethin’s a bit odd about your bond.” Bobby started. Dean had just climbed back down the ladder when his gaze went instantly to Sam at his uncle’s words. The omega gave him an unsure look. No one had ever said anything about the anomallity of their bond before and they had assumed that it was invisible to everyone else… now, Sam was anxious. The idea that others could sense it but weren’t saying anything was stressful. 

Sniffing the omega’s obvious distress, Bobby held his hands up in defense against his nephew’s threatening look and went on “It’s nothin’ to get all up in arms over, Jesus. All I’m pointin’ out is that I’ve noticed you two seem to sense the change of emotion in each other before your scents even change.” Sam shrugged as he bit his lip “So?” “That’s not somethin’ typical, boys.” Jody confirmed with a look of curiosity in her eye as if she was trying to figure out what made their bond so strong just with a cursory glance. 

Dean looked at Sam contemplatively then looked to his uncle more hesitantly. After all, this was the first time either of them had talked about it outside of just the two of them. “Me and Sam have this… weird little thing between us…”

Jody gave Dean a wary glance “This little thing, is it gonna be something we really don’t want to know about? You tend to over share a lot- and I mean a lot of thing.”

“No, it’s nothin’ like that. It’s about me and Sam-“ “it’s ‘Sam and I’ You knucklehead.” Bobby interjected and the younger alpha huffed in frustration “Sam and I’s bond.” 

“What about it?” The Sheriff asked as she folded the ladders backup to storage size. Dean kicked at the rubble and looked to Sam as if silently asking if it’s okay to tell them.

“Ever since Dean marked me, there’s been like this, invisible string constantly tying us together even when we’re on opposite sides of Lawrence.” Sam started and Jody shrugged “A lot of omega and alpha couples have a strong bond like that. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Yeah… that’s not all of it.” She looked at Dean again and he rubbed at his eyes searching for the best way to word it without making Sam and him sound like total basket cases.

“If one of us has a strong reaction to something the other can feel it. And I’m not talkin about scenting it across the room- No. I’m talking from miles away.”

“I’ve actually seen one of Dean’s dreams before.”

“Sometimes Sam’s thoughts are so clear I know exactly what he’s thinking about without actually hearing the thought like telepathy or whatever-“

“There’s also been this weird double vision where I can see through Dean’s eyes and my own at the same time.” 

Now that they had started talking about it, all the strange events leading up to this point were spilling out and they couldn’t stop it.

Bobby took off his hat and scratched at his head before putting the hat back in place. His eyes were wide as he turned to look at Jody, who was, at this point, at a complete loss for words.

“You two ain’t just messin’ around, are ya?” Bobby finally asked at length. Serious as a heart attack. Dean shook his head. “No. You think you know what this freakiness is all about?”

Bobby gestured to Sam without ever looking away from his nephew “Congratulations, you’re bonded to your true mate.”

Jody held her chest as if her heart would come out from the sudden surprise. “Are you sure, Bobby? That’s like one in three million or something like that.”

“Wait. What the heck is a true mate?” Sam interjected with a slight fear of what was going on. “Doctors think it happens when a couple bonds and their scents have a certain chemical makeup that when introduced heightens both their senses. But mostly people believe it’s a kind of destiny- soulmates. Like god- or the gods, made the two of you for each other.”

“I don’t think god’s got anything to do with it.” Dean muttered and looked his mate over with a newfound level of awestruck wonder. Bobby growled at the scent of Dean’s lust. “If this is really happening because of you being true mates, you both better not take it for granted.” But his words seemed to go unheard. He regretted saying anything now that he realized what he had triggered. The mated couple were practically rolling their hips together by the sudden spike in their scents and that eye contact they were holding- Bobby cringed, if he didn’t break it up he had a feeling the boys would be doing things that would make the devil himself blush in his yard right there and then. He would be having none of that. 

Clearing his throat loudly, the older Alpha growled threateningly “And another thing. You two ain’t allowed to do it on my property. Get yourselves a motel room if your gonna be all frisky.”

Sam managed to pull his eyes from Dean’s intense staring and gaped at Bobby “We aren’t- I wasn’t going to let him-“ his alpha had other plans. He grabbed hold of Sam and dragged him towards baby. “Got it. Gotta go- see ya later Bobby, Jody.” The voice was little more than a low rumble. Sam shuttered with arousal and let Dean drag him to his car. In any other circumstance, Sam probably would have just called Dean a horney bastard and ignored his advances until they were alone but it was as if learning that Dean was meant for him had sent him into what he could only describe as a mini heat.

The moment Sam was in the car they were off. 

Bobby sighed as Jody and him watched Dean speed off “that kid is hornier than a bag of horns.”

Dean drove just up the road from Bobby’s and turned off into the trees away from the road. He pulled Sam towards him and pressed gentle kisses all over. Sam got caught up in the sweep of emotions and they kissed languishly for several long minutes.

The windows were fogging over and they could see each other’s breath from the cold. Dean had set to work jerking them off- too cold to be taking clothes off all the way. The alpha pumped their shafts together in one hand after spitting on it. He jerked them off at a fast pace from the very start. His other hand pushed the back of Sam’s pants down the best that he could. His fingers at Sam’s entrance gently probing had slick forming almost instantly. 

The alpha growled and licked and bit at Sam’s neck when the omega instinctively tilted his head to bare his neck to Dean. The combination of what both Dean’s hands were doing to him had Sam crying out with a shiver as he released into his mate’s hand. The alpha smeared the cum up and down his own shaft.

Sam watched Dean get off in front of him. He was mesmerized by the thick bulb of Dean’s knot. Expanding, expanding… the alpha bit Sam’s neck and a stream of cum spilled into his hand. Sam moaned in a mixture of pleasure and pain with the teeth digging into the sensitive skin of their bond mark. Dean’s knot died out and his cock went limp.

They kissed sweetly for a while. Savoring the afterglow but the cold was sneaking in. Then they were digging around for those damn fast food napkins and bickering about whether it was Dean’s or Sam’s fault that there was slick on baby’s precious interior. 

Sam didn’t feel the muffled vibration of his phone ringing.


	51. A Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Warning: this chapter contains discriptions of domestic violence that may be disturbing to some. It’s minor I suppose, but I thought I might as well put a warning. Anywho, enjoy!

Mary sat in her living room with the only sound being that of the wall clock ticking away. She was in debate with herself over whether she should finally tell Sam the secret she had been hiding for the past twenty-six years. 

She held in one hand the most expensive bottle of rum she had ever heard of. It was one of the presents Ketch had brought her back from England and she’d never even opened it. She was never really a rum kind of person but today, she planned on polishing the forty ounce bottle off.

In her other hand she held an old picture. It was creased from several times she had folded it or crumpled it up altogether but the picture was still clear enough to see the bright smile of a boy, no more than three or four. Beside him was the corner of his father’s face, Rough with stubble as he failed to lean in far enough to get into frame properly. 

Mary had wondered that night that all hell had broken loose and the man she had married had become something of a monster… how different things would have been if she hadn’t dodged his blows, if she had lost the baby she was three months pregnant with at the time. She probably wouldn’t be as well off and stable as she was right now. Life without Sam would have been… well, she probably wouldn’t be walking the earth now if it wasn’t for her son.

She opened the bottle and scrunched her nose at the smell. It reminded her of Ketch and she didn’t like that one bit but she took a gulp off the bottle anyways. Then she looked back to the little boy in the picture.

How different would it be if she had picked her son up from where he cried through the railing of the stairs watching, watching as his father tried to kill his mother for something she didn’t even do- watching his mother run screaming to the front door, blood gushing from her nose where her alpha had landed a particularly nasty blow and leaving him behind. She had saved herself, saved her baby… at the price of her other baby.

She began to cry and she let herself because there was no one to see her this weak. She never wanted to show anyone this, the pathetic core of a human left behind after her abusers had destroyed the rest of her.

What were the chances of Sam running into Dean? She wondered. Why had they gotten along so well? Why hadn’t she told the both of them right then and there when the last name Winchester was mentioned? 

She already knew the answer; Because Dean was her weakness. The dirty secret that only she knew about.

She sat the photo on the coffee table and wiped at the tears fruitlessly. Well, this was it. She picked up her phone, took another drink of rum and dialed Sam’s number.

It rang… and it rang until the familiar voice message activated [Hi, you’ve reached Sam Campbell I can’t get to the phone but if you could leave your name and number…] she had stopped listening. The hand holding the phone felt too heavy so she let it drop to her lap. No, she couldn’t do this… not over the phone. It was too impersonal.

She hung up and took another drink.


	52. Fighting

It had been… a bit awkward returning an hour after they left, smelling of sex and looking as if the two of them had been through the spin cycle. Jody had gone off to work so that left Bobby to give the amused but also disgusted looks from   
where he sat on the couch.

They hadn’t said anything. Simply made their way up the stairs and washed away the evidence with a hot shower. Sam had slapped Dean’s hands away when he had slid his soapy hands over the omega’s chest and after some wrestling, Sam had managed to untie himself from Dean. That had been the end of that. They dressed quickly into warmer clothes and Dean rubbed his face into Sam’s clean clothes, his excuse being that he liked it when Sam smelt like him. Sam had then rubbed _his_ face in Dean’s shirt in return with a mischievous smile as he told him that he liked it when _Dean_ smelt like him. That had earned him a sweet kiss. God, they were absolute syrup but Sam couldn’t help but love it.

More tv was watched with Bobby, this time around it was Jeopardy but Dean had gotten bored with that fast. He decided to take Sam to see the town of Sioux Falls not too far from Bobby’s. They drove over and walked around for a while- all while Dean pointed out all the places he had hurt himself when he had come there as a kid. Why? Well, apparently, Dean catalogues memories by injuries he sustained.

Sam had picked up a magnet that simply said Sioux Falls for his mom. She like that sort of thing… maybe. He had never traveled much other than his time in California for college and she had seemed to really like the postcards he had sent that said California on them. She still had them pinned to her cork board in the kitchen.

It was around two in the afternoon when Dean decided they had walked around enough. Sam silently relaxed when he mentioned grabbing some food and heading back to Bobby’s. There had been staring, incredulously expressions, and the not so subtle whispers. Yes, yes, Sam was a male omega. A male omega who was taller than his alpha. It was all very interesting for some fly-over town who probably had never seen someone like him before but Sam wasn’t here for them to gawk at.

Dean took him to “the very best place to eat in Sioux Falls” as the alpha had declared it reverently as he always did when it came to his favorite; meat. They had eaten in relative silence. Sam was tired and the warmth of the restaurant was not helping. Dean was looking out the window, watching people and cars go by.

That’s when Sam checked his phone. His mom had called nearly six hours ago. “I have to call my mom really quick.” Sam stood from the booth and Dean gave a grunt of acknowledgement before taking another bite of his sandwich. Sam stepped outside to get away from the loud chatter in the restaurant and dialed Mary back.

She answered on the last ring “HEllo?”

Sam knitted his eyebrows in concern “Is everything alright, Mom?” Mary laughed humorlessly on the other line “Ev’ry thinz just dandy, Sam.” Now Sam’s eyebrows raised in an odd mixture of terror and sadness “...Are you drunk? Mom, what happened? Are you alright?”

“Listen, Sam. I nee chu talk shew you and Dean about something. It’s really important.”

Sam scrubbed at his face and shifted his weight anxiously from one foot to another. Taking note of the middle age alpha woman eyeing him from where she leaned against the building with a cigarette in hand.

“I told you I was going up with Dean to visit his uncle in South Dakota this weekend. We won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon-“

“It’s important, Sam! I haven’t told you, yet.” Okay, now he was getting a little scared. “Do you want me to come home early? Even if we left right now we wouldn’t be back for hours, Mom.”

There was some shuffling on the other line, then she sighed heavily “Just come see me soon. I miss my boys an’ I have to tell you both somethin’ really important.”

 

“Okay. And Mom? Put away the bottle, please. You’ve had enough.”

She hung up on him and he groaned. Just when he had stopped stressing over one thing, another came up and sent him sprawling. 

He headed back to Dean. His burger was hardly touched but his mate had all but devoured the plastic fry boat his own burger had been served in.

“How’s your mom?”

Sam sat down across from him and pushed the hair falling in his eyes back behind his ear. “She’s drunk.” “What?” Dean looked up in surprise “Why?” “I donno. She kept saying she has something important to tell you and me.”

“You okay, Sammy? You look exhausted.”

Sam managed a smile at that “Feel it too.” 

They drove back to Bobby’s just as it started to rain again and Dean agreed to go with Sam to Mary’s house when they got back to Lawrence. Claire was there looking annoyed and befuddled since she had showed up to hang out with Dean and the older alpha wasn’t even there for the first forty minutes.

Sam had taken up staring at the tv and pretending he was actually interested in the documentary on the Vietnam war that was playing. Claire and Dean were talking in the kitchen. She with her root beer and Dean with his Budweiser. Sam was, for the most part, thinking solely of his mother.

Dean had looked over into the living room where Sam sat and sent warm feelings towards him because Dean could tell by the hard set of Sam’s jaw that he was stressed, probably from that phone call with Mary earlier.

Claire didn’t have to follow the trail of Dean’s eyes to know where they were looking. She tried to analyze that affectionate but worried look in his eyes - looking for a fault line, some form of uncaring detachment- she had never seen Dean like this- not even with the hookups he had picked up from Sioux Falls while he stayed with Bobby.

“Oh my god, you actually love him.” It was as if she had stumbled upon a horrible discovery from the childish disgusted in her voice. Dean gave her a fake glare out of the corner of his eye then a dramatic ‘You’re being ridiculous’ expression as he turned and got up from his chair.

“Now that’s just crazy.” Dean joked. He messed up the younger alpha’s hair with a good ruffle despite her growl and hands that yanked his away.

With Dean leaning into the fridge for another drink, Claire cast a glance over to Sam sitting in the living room by himself. She hadn’t asked Dean, but she had a feeling that the omega was keeping what happened that morning to himself and that bothered her deeply. She’d known Dean for a big chunk of her life and he was one of the kindest people she had ever met (not that she would openly admit that _ever_ ) it just didn’t make sense that this omega he was so infatuated with wouldn’t tell him something like the possibility of a kid.

“Yo, Sammy. Want anything to drink?” Dean called and Claire watched as Sam shifted his eyes away from the tv he wasn’t watching before calling back “ water would be great right now, thanks.”

Claire clenched her soda and it folded under the pressure.  
It wasn’t until eleven when Jody showed up, flustered at the late timing. Bobby, Sam, Dean and Claire had been sitting in front of the tv watching For Your Eyes Only and eating their way through chips and popcorn like it was going out of style.

“Have you guys ate yet?”

Dean raised the bag of popcorn as if that answered Jody’s question as she tugged her jacket off. “I’m making one of those frozen pizzas, Bobby.” She called which Bobby grunted in reply.

Fifteen minutes later and they were eating pizza and talking over the conclusion to the movie. Jody telling Dean he better start visiting more and about how much she hated that they could only stay the weekend. They talked about Jody’s patrol. The one rowdy DUI she had pulled over and then their plans for the holidays. 

Sam gave Claire another quick glance. She had been oddly quiet this whole time. When she caught his eyes she made an exaggerated look to Dean then back to Sam as if asking him ‘how ya gonna stop me?’ That look said and then Sam was remembering her comment about him being pregnant this morning. He went to send her a look- he didn’t know what look, but something that would tell her to stay out of it but she was already speaking before he had completely finished comprehending the situation.

“So, Dean, do you want kids?”

Dean had froze almost before she had finished her sentence. He looked at Sam and then away. “Could we not talk about this right now?” Oh, he was cryptic. Sam could never tell what Dean thought about children. The three other alpha’s in the room could scent the tension between Sam and Dean so Bobby stepped in.

“It’s getting pretty late you ladies should probably heading on-“

“Was that a no, Dean? Because your boyfriend here-“ “Claire.” Sam clenched his hands, his eyes fixed on the girl growing wider and wider by the second. She was about to spill something very personal out in front of Dean and the people he called his family, his pack…“thinks he might be pregnant but he doesn’t want you to know.”

Shame and guilt and fear was more than likely pouring off of Sam by the way all the alpha’s tensed. An omega in distress. Bobby and Jody were not looking at Sam (thank god) But at Claire with glares of anger. One them (Sam didn’t know which) even growling.

Sam felt like throwing up just because it would feel better than how he was feeling. It was more out of instinctual comfort and protection than his actual want to hide that caused him to stand. No one stopped him as he went out the front door into the rain, not quite slamming it but definitely closing it harder than he needed to.

“You had no business saying that, Claire.” Jody reprimanded with that subtle cold anger she used when she was beyond pissed. “What? It’s true! He was throwing up this morning and-“ “I don’t care if it’s true or not. That was something just between the two of them-“ Claire growled, looking to where Dean was standing, pacing back and forth. He had stood up when Sam had closed the front door but had stopped himself from going after his his mate. “He wasn’t going to even tell Dean!”

Jody grabbed Claire by the arm and hoisted her up. “Okay, we’re going home.” 

Apologetic, lingering looks were past between the Sheriff and Bobby. When they had left. He downed the rest of his flask and watched his nephew raking at his head with his nails. “Jesus Dean, haven’t either of you idjits heard of using a goddamn condom and birth control?”

“We were kinda out of our minds on my rut and his heat happening at the same time!” Dean snapped with a growl before he fell back into his lip chewing and compulsive walking. “Sam, he… took some really heavy blockers for a couple of years- he thought, he couldn’t get… he took a test though! It was negative! And I pretty sure Sam’s on the pile now.”

Bobby growled at how stupid Dean could be sometimes “It’s called a false negative, boy. And if your mate’s already pregnant the piles won’t do jack. Now, get your ass out there, get him out of the rain, and talk to him.” Dean stopped pacing and stared at his uncle for a second before turning and taking big strides to the front door. When it was slammed shut Bobby sighed loudly into the empty room. Those two probably had the worst communication problems he had ever seen which was ironic since the two of them could see into each other’s minds. “I need another drink.”

Sam hadn’t gone far. Dean found his mate brooding in the back seat of the Impala. There was nobody around for some miles so he hadn’t bother to lock her up. He was glad, the thought that Sam could have been an idiot and wandered off up the street was not a comforting one. 

He slid into the driver's seat and closed the door. Didn’t look back at Sam, just stared out the front window and watched the droplets that had landed on the windshield despite the newly fixed carport over head.

“Why didn’t you just freakin’ tell me.” He hadn’t meant to start so harsh but his own emotions were clouding his mind and it was hard to focus on Sam’s feelings when he had some pretty messed up emotions he had to work through himself.

“Fuck you, Dean.” 

Now the alpha was turning back towards his mate. A growl rattling in his throat “Oh, fuck me? Fuck me for what. Not understanding? Getting pissed that you wouldn’t even mention something like this to me!?” He laughed cynically and hated that for the briefest of moments he reminded himself of his father.

“I can take a lot of shit, Sam. But what the hell is wrong with you, huh? Are you scared of me or somethin’? Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

Sam was shaking his head, not looking at Dean and the alpha could feel the emotional whirlpool going on inside of Sam through their bond. Sam’s fear was in the car’s air now, suffocating both of them in the tight space and a dull ache began to beat in place of Dean’s heart.

“You _are_ scared of me.”

The omega drew into himself more, digging his palms into his eyes. Probably to stop tears. Dean ached, ached more than he had before. Had this all just been a dream? Had Sam… never stopped seeing him as one of ‘those’ alphas? The ones who had exposed him, made him feel worthless and insignificant if he was what he was?

‘True mate’s’ He thought bitterly, that didn’t mean jack shit, did it? He needed a drink, a drink real bad. His lips felt dry and the idea of the ‘strong stuff’ as he liked to call the top shelf of his pantry back home sounded overwhelming amazing at the moment.

“I’m… not scared of you, Dean.”

“Really?” The alpha shot back incredulously and dramatically sniffed the air “‘Cause I’d say you smell just about terrified right now.”

“You’re always asking me if I’m okay, if I want to talk about something that’s on my mind- and you know what? I told you things I never wanted to tell anyone, because I trust you.” Sam snarled then pointed an accusing finger at his mate “But if I ask you if something's wrong you lie and say you’re okay- no one can be okay all the time, Dean.”

“How does this have anything to do with you not telling me you’re pregnant?” The alpha huffed and Sam sat up, glaring at Dean face to face. “Who says I’m pregnant? I threw up, Dean. I might be pregnant- and it has everything to do with it!” 

Sam was tired of yelling. He took a deep breath and blew it out, calming himself down before continuing. “Look, every time someone talks about us having a kid, you clamp up and try to steer the conversation away from the topic. You don’t want kids, I know. I mean, what else am I supposed to assume by the way you act?”

Dean’s eyebrows raised in surprise and he turned completely around in the driver's seat to look Sam over more carefully. “Do you... want to have a kid with me, Sammy?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re my mate, Dean. I mean, I would prefer a couple of years down the road when we’re settled down more, but I’m already twenty-six and I don’t want to be having a kid in my thirties if I can help it...” he left it at that, not meeting his mate’s unbelieving eyes.

“But at Thanksgiving you were saying how we didn’t have to worry about having a kid because you thought you couldn’t get pregnant. I thought you were happy with that.” Sam remembered perfectly and he shook his head slowly “If I can’t get pregnant, I can’t get pregnant. I wouldn’t mind having a kid but I already know the older I get and the longer I had spent taking those blockers the less chance that was going to happen.

“What do you want, Dean? Don’t just tell me what I want to hear.” He offered his alpha’s freezing hand his own where it rested on the top of his seat and Dean squeezed it.

“Sam, I… it’s not that easy for me.” He looked away in frustration “The idea of you having a baby- my baby… I ain’t gonna lie, I want that more than anything. It’s… it’s somethin’ else, Sam. It’s the way I was raised by my dad. I’m already an alcoholic like he was- hell, sometimes I’m even worse than him. I’ve gotten into all out brawls when I’m boozed up- I’m violent and that ain’t good. I don’t wanna be a dad like my dad was- but I know that that’s what I’m gonna be…”

The alpha broke off and in the dark Sam hadn’t really noticed until that moment that Dean was crying. He whimpered in response to his mate’s pain and hugged Dean over the top of the seats.

Sam… really hated Dean’s dad- John, if he remembered right. The fact that he had messed with Dean’s psyche this badly classified him as just as bad as Ketch. He vowed that the next time Dean went to meet up with his dad, Sam was going to tag along and confront him about what an abusive asshole he was.

“Shuuush. No, Dean. You’re nothing like him. You’re so kind and stupidly selfless. You would be a good dad. You just gotta learn how to drink in moderation- And if you acted like a douche, I’d just kick your ass.” Dean laughed into his shoulder at that last part.

They had talked into each other’s shoulders for a few minutes more before running inside and out of the cold night. 

Bobby had turned in, leaving them some privacy as they made their way to the guest room for the night. Dean was grateful; he didn’t know how he would face Bobby again if his uncle had seen him with dried tears under his red rimmed eyes.

 

They had laid together in bed in a tight embrace. Sam ran his fingers comfortably through Dean wet hair as he thought because after their talk in the car he wasn’t sure if he could sleep.

“What if… I really am.” There was no need for context, they were thinking of the same thing. “If you want to… wait, ya know, until you think we’re ready,” he hadn’t said it, but Sam knew what Dean was suggesting and his stomach turn in the most uncomfortable way. He gave a long sigh, hot air fanning over the alpha’s bareback. “No… whatever happens is meant to happen, I guess.”

“Are you okay with that, Sammy?”  
“Are you okay with it?”  
There was a long silence and then the alpha pressed his lips softly into Sam’s neck “Yeah… So are we good now? You ain’t gonna tell me to fuck myself again?- because if you think about that, it’s pretty boring without you.”

Sam rolled his eye despite knowing full well that Dean couldn’t see it and turned in his mate’s arms so that his back was to Dean. “Goodnight, Dean.” Sam pointedly ignored the other’s horrible attempt to joke about their first serious fight that still stung and the alpha seemed to take the hint.

“G’night, Sammy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Their first major fight of their relationship...


	53. You and Me

The drive back the next morning started out oddly tranquil despite the night they had had just a few hour before they set out.

They ate breakfast with Bobby after packing their things away. The older alpha subtly made checks on them as they talked- it was just the smallest flicker in his eyes but it was there. Sam and Dean weren’t holding grudges about the night before, they had needed that fight to really get to the meat of what matters. But they were also not monks, practicing ‘forgive and forget’ at least… not the forget part. 

It was definitely different than any aftermath of a fight Sam had ever known. They had reached an understanding through it in some ways. And that was good but that didn’t mean things just popped back into a certain mold they had been in before. No, they both needed time to think.

Saying goodbye to Bobby had been bitter sweet. In the grey blue lighting of a new day they stood on the porch, the same as they had some forty hours prior but Sam didn’t feel the nerves he had then. Puffs of breath could be seen in the cold air. “See, ya ‘round, Bobby.” Dean started, a swell of respect and affection in his voice as he was pulled into a hug. They pulled away and Bobby unexpectedly pulled Sam in for a hug next. The omega had been expecting an awkward handshake but this was… he hugged Bobby back. They had only just met two days prior but this...This felt like family.

“I’m hopin’ that you’ll understand that Claire can be a real nice girl when she warms up to ya.” Bobby muttered when Sam pulled away from him and Dean snickered “Yeah, Yeah. Give her a good kick in the butt for me, will ya? You’ll make a great father to her and Alex someday soon.” The older alpha narrowed his eyes “Shut up.”

They descended the porch but not without Bobby calling out after them “You best be visiting again sooner than later, boys.” 

They had been on the road for nearly an hour. Dean’s eighties rock down low and the rumble of the car a sort of grungy harmony. Sam had propped his head against the window with his jacket but hadn’t been able to get much rest. He groaned and sat up.

“I’m kind of hating this.” 

“Hm?” The alpha didn’t look away from the deserted back road but his eyebrows raised out of the drawn down expression of deep concentration.

“This,” here, Sam gestured between the two of them. Dean chanced a glance over to see what he was doing before turning back to the road.

“What, us?”

“No, Dean. I hate this tension between us.”

“Are you tense, Sam? ‘Cause I ain’t.” The alpha so blatantly denied. Sam sighed “You’d think that the idea of having a baby would be a happy thing.” That comment made Dean loosen his grip on the steering wheel and let his shoulders sag just a fraction of an inch.

When a comforting hand grabbed hold of his shoulder, Sam felt his mate’s guilt as well as scented it. He hand gently worked the tight muscles while knowingly brushing at the bond mark with the clothes covering it. The sensation had Sam biting his lip as a vibrations of pleasure rippled through his core in waves.

“You’re right. this should be great- it is great, maybe- but I’m… you know,”

“Scared?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say tha-“  
“Just tell me you’re scared so we can move on.”   
Dean scowled at the empty road before them and let his hand drop from Sam’s neck to his lap “I’m not scared, Sam. I’m a little… intimidated.”

Sam knew what his alpha meant. The discussion about Dean’s worry that he would end up just like his father came to mind. Sam gave a nod. “Okay. I understand why… and whatever happens or doesn’t happen- even if people say things… we’ll stick together, right?”

Dean smirked at that. He could all but see Sam as a child- that happy seven year old he had met through the photographs at Mary’s house. And that childish innocence was oddly still there in the Sam next to him, mixed in with the hardened face of someone who had been through a lot of shit in their life. The alpha grabbed hold of Sam’s hand then and gave it a squeeze. Tension easing slowly in the air around them.

“That’s right, Sammy. You and me against the world.”


	54. You’ve Done Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter, camping right now and internet is spotty. Anyway, enjoy~!
> 
> Update: I have added the missing 54 chapter to this chapter which was _supposed_ to be 55.

Mary was a mess. There was no better way to describe the state she was in. Sam and Dean were back in Lawrence. Sam had texted her around an hour before and had told her Dean and him would be over in a few hours, something about not getting enough sleep and wanting to catch a couple more hours. She had a feeling they, Sam especially, knew something bad was coming.

In her time before the boys were to come over she had made a sudden decision to give herself a haircut- filling the kitchen sink with long blonde curls of a woman she didn’t recognize anymore, burned the dresses that Ketch had bought for her in the backyard fire pit, and made an emergency grocery store run for butter that she didn’t even need.

On the outside she was calm. Passerbys in the store would think of her as an attractive, older omega with the scent of mourning surrounding her- (her hack job of a bob haircut maybe a little out of place) as was common around omega’s going through a bond break whether it be through death or divorce.

The same could not be said for her mind which was something of a constant scream. Ketch had been, if not good at his intelligence job, a very good torturer. He had known of her previous family. She had been the one to tell him not too long into their budding relationship- back when her love for him had been enough.

Ketch knew… and he had used it against her. Before it had become physical as well, it had been only verbal, physiological abuse. When she would put her foot down against something the alpha wanted to do or warn him to stay away from her son he would bring up her past. He would twist and twist what she had told him until he managed to make her think she had been in the wrong- maybe, what her former alpha had accused her of had been true. 

Her son, Sam, had saved her from Ketch, yes, in a way he had. But her psyche was shot, busted a few springs, a handful of marbles were not in the right places, or however you wanted to say it. 

With the butter she had no use for, she had made her way back to her house, tossed her jacket on the kitchen countertop and thrown the butter in the trash. Sam and Dean would be by soon enough. So she stood, her torso propped up on the counter, and she waited.

The moment his mother opened the door to him Sam had gone from an uneasiness to sheer confusion and concern. 

Mary’s hair was short- shorter than his own hair, and there was a steady resolute resolve in her eyes. It was similar to the look she had had when he had come on the scene after his mom had stabbed Ketch.

“What happened?” He started, dead serious. Mary gave a look over Sam’s shoulder where Dean was walking up. He had been locking up his car… she let out bemused laugh, short and to the point. The Impala looking just as it had over twenty-five years ago and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Come to the living room.” She advised as Dean finally made it to the porch. They followed her in and Dean frowned when he caught sight of the bottles in the kitchen as they past by on the way to the living room.

She sat down and Sam hesitated not liking the feel of the room. He hoped that his- as well as Dean’s uneasiness at his mother’s strange behavior was just a result of her bond break.

“I haven’t been honest with either of you.” The female omega started. She took a deep breath and sighed “I think… starting from the end would be confusing so I’ll start from the middle because starting from the beginning would also be confusing.”

“Mom, are you okay?” Sam asked generally concerned about her strange pattern of speech. Mary ignored Sam and looked to Dean.

“It was just Sam and me for the longest time. Before Ketch. My mate- Sam’s father, was… temperamental. When I told him I was pregnant with Sam he yelled and screamed at me saying that he wasn’t the father, that I had been sleeping around behind his back.”

Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden excitement and horror he could feel through the bond. He looked to his mate to find Sam’s eyes glued to his mother. Right, this was the first time Sam had ever heard anything of his father. Dean was a little unsure why he was also summoned to hear this.

“Of course, I hadn’t. Mating with another alpha while bonded is uncomfortable. I was three months pregnant when I left him. It was messy. He had been drinking that night and punched me a couple times. I was scared, he was threatening to kill Sam…”

She was tearing up but she blinked it away and looked to the side as she continued “In my haste to save Sam and myself… I left something important behind.”

The hair on Dean’s arms suddenly stood on end. Something was gnawing at the back of his mind… this was familiar somehow and oddly enough he thought of the letter his own mother had left him that Dean had watch John burn in front of him.

“I left my other son behind… with his father, John.” 

Sam’s head hurt, too much information too suddenly. He had a brother out there? Since when? Why was he just now hearing about this? His father was named John? That’s funny, Dean’s dad is named…

“John… as in, John Winchester, John? “ Sam’s voice was just an octave too high. He wanted his mom to look him in the eye and tell him the truth. That this was some kind of outrageous joke- and it sure as hell wasn't funny- but she refused to meet either of their eyes.

“Campbell is my maiden name. After I broke things off with John I knew eventually he would come looking for me so I hired a guy to erase Mary Winchester from the system as much as he could.”

Now she met Dean’s eyes where there were flashes between confusion and betrayal. “I didn’t want to leave you, Dean… did you not get my letter?”

She knew… she knew about the letter.

“Dad, he, uh… burned it.”

She sighed and stood, walking over to the fireplace mantel covered with framed picture after framed picture. She picked up a small one and brought it over to Dean and showed it to him. It was of a younger version of Mary holding a newborn with a bright smile. Sam. His little Sammy looking so fragile and red. His heart unintentionally swelled with affection at the picture.

“I sent this along with a letter explaining why I left and that I would get you out of there as soon as I could.”

“Yeah, well soon as you could wasn’t soon enough. After you sent this letter John sold the house and started movin’ us between motels.” Dean pushes the picture away as he gritted out words. Words with meaning that had meaning but he wasn’t entirely sure he meant to say whatever was coming out. He was trying his hardest to wrap his head around this whole thing.

This was… too real. It was making too much sense.

Sam took in increasingly shallow breaths as the gravity of the whole situation came crashing down on him. A sob escaped his mouth and he tried to force it back but between the quick breaths and that, distant, unfeeling looking his mom was regarding him with sent pain wracking his chest cavity. If this was real… that would mean John, the one that had messed Dean up, was also his father… even more painful, that would mean that Dean, his mate, his lover, his fucking true mate, was also his older brother he had never known about… he was also maybe carrying his brother’s baby. In another situation Sam might have laughed at the absolute bullshit of it all, but he couldn’t- wouldn’t. This was real.

Dean was there in a second, holding his mate’s face between his hands as he desperately tried to wipe away those tears. Anguish bleeding out within their bond from the both of them. He tried, tried to reassure, comfort Sam-maybe even himself but he couldn’t not feel like a piece of shit someone had just scraped off the bottom of their shoe. Sam half heartedly shoved Dean away but the alpha easily managed to keep his mate’s face in his hands. He didn’t- couldn’t say anything but he wanted Sam to look at him.

Mary, she looked resigned to the whole thing but after the sounds of Sam sobs died away and the two boys were just staring at each other, confused and conflicted, she spoke up, a sort of emptiness to her words that Dean hated. 

“Sam… you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

Now Dean was pissed. He stood and pointed at her with a growl “What is **_wrong_** with you!?” That seemed to actually reach her. At least, her face broke from that blankness to crease into a bitter smile “I know it’s too late to stop you from bonding or mating but I couldn’t just stand by and let it happen.” Sam actually did laugh at that but it was an awful, pained sound. Mary opened her mouth, about to address Sam but Dean growled again “Don’t talk to him.” “Dean, I know it’s a lot to take in. I’m the one who messed everything up- for both of you. I want to help-“ Dean was shaking with anger at those words but he forced himself to blow a breath from his nose before he allowed himself to speak “Help? No. you’ve done enough. Me and Sammy are leaving. I am so fucking done with this shit so don’t even think about talking to me.” With his warning made, he stood from where he had collapsed to his knees in front of his Sam and reach to lift the hopelessly directionless omega up to his feet.

He flinched away when Dean grabbed at him “Don’t touch me!” 

Dean was not putting up with this shit right now. “C’mon, Sammy. Gotta go.” This time when Dean reached for him, Sam reached back and let his alpha pull him towards the front door.

By the time they made it into the Impala Sam had calmed himself down but he was still breathing too fast. Dean stared out the front window before hitting his head into the leather steering wheel. “Fuck.”

Then he turned and looked at Sam, his face was wet and he hadn’t shaved today but the mere sight of those lost eyes on him, asking what to do now, made Dean feel so much better. Made him felt like he was in control of the spiraling situation, of only a little.

He grabbed hold of the nape of Sam’s neck and looked at him with all the seriousness in the world “I still… I still love you, Sam. None of that shit in there matters to me.”

“Dean, we’re fucking brothers!” 

“Listen to me, Sammy, because I’m only gonna say this once. I’m one hundred percent sure that even if we’d grown up together and all that shit, we still would have ended up bonding.” 

Sam absorbed all of that for a moment before laughing cynically “Because we’re sick fucks?” Dean scowled and pulled Sam towards him despite the omega’s struggles. He kissed Sam, he fought against Dean, making the alpha accidentally honk the horn with his elbow but then he caught the flying fists in his hands and all the fight went out of the omega. There was hesitation but slowly, Sam started to kiss him back. He had wanted one of those for awhile now. It was wrong, he tried to remind himself but Sam couldn’t bring himself to pull away. They moved their lips against each other slow and sensually before pulling away a fraction.

“We would’ve ended up like this anyway because we’re true mates, and that means somethin’, stupid.”

Despite himself, Sam smiled and tears suddenly were spilling out again, but his mate was there and he kissed away every single one before pulling him into a tight embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, a very emotional chapter... things to come so stick around!


	55. Smelling Like a Saloon

Castiel gave a sigh “So you’re moving, huh?”

Dean nodded slowly “Gotta get Sam out of this toxic environment, ya know?” His friend nodded in agreement “With such a… sensitive situation such as this, it would be for the best. But, Dean. Have you even discussed this with Sam?”

“Well, no, but-“ Castiel raised a hand to silence his friend and took a big bite of his sandwich. When he had swallowed he gave Dean almost a parental look of reprimand “Dean, you know you can’t just decide to move Sam from his life here without discussing it with him. Last time I talked to him, he seemed like he was finally starting to get back into the swing of work. He may not want to leave that, Dean.”

The alpha plucked at the bun of his own burger, mopey when faced with the truth. 

He usually loved coming to this restaurant- great beer, babes, and burgers… now he felt like an eighty-seven year old in a wheelchair at a strip club. This was no longer his scene. It was also tainted by the memory of the few times when he had come there with his dad.

“Sam… isn’t really talking to me right now. Says he needs to process it all or somethin’.” Castiel sat down his sandwich and looked Dean over with calculative wariness “How are you processing all of this?”

“Don’t you go all shrink talk on me- I’m fine! Mary pissed me off- the way she had assumed we would want a bond break or some shit. But I found out my mom left me to protect Sam- I’m good with that. I don’t want to even imagine what it would have been like if Sam had been there all this time. Knowing John, he’d probably sold Sam off the moment he found out he was an omega.” A growl rumbled in his throat but he was too tired- too exhausted. He let it go and rubbed at his eyelids.

“I don’t wanna talk about it anymore. How are things with, uh,” he looked for with   
right name for a moment then snapped his fingers “You’re little leprechaun?” Castiel narrowed his eyes unamused by the nickname.

“If you’re referring to Crowley, he’s… better- only by a small margin. He is also a lot more, uh, strange.”

“In what way?”

Castiel tilted his head as he search for the right way to explain his situation “Well, since I moved in with him I’ve felt like I’ve been living one of those awful situational comedies you enjoy so much-“ “Hey.” The alpha interjected in defense of his shows.

“On one hand, he is the most vindictive, rude, asshole I’ve ever met and I swear he does things just to frustrate me, but on the other hand… Crowley’s very smart- and kind when we’re alone… He _did_ put me through school and gave me a job when nobody believed in me… plus the sex-“ Dean choked on his beer and held a hand up to stop Castiel from continuing. The beta gave him an expression as if to say ‘What? It’s true!’ When Dean managed to cough his airway free, he closed his eyes briefly as if he was trying to will away the image Cas had put in his head.

“So, What. You like Crowley now? Should I be worried? I mean, you might just have Stockholm syndrome or something.” It was meant as a half joke half serious comment but Cas didn’t roll his eyes or smile knowingly. He instead looked extremely seriously out the window “That could be an explanation…”

Dean gave a sigh “I’m just messin’ with you, Cas. I don’t like it but it’s okay if you like him, you know. Free country and all that.”

“I know… I just don’t want to like him.”

The alpha was about to try and bullshit some advice that would hopefully help his friend with a situation he himself had never been in, when his phone buzzed.

A call from Sammy lit up the screen, temporarily hiding the unopened texts from his father. He answered without hesitation.

“Sam?” God, he sounded desperate.

There was chatter muffled on the other line and then Sam voice rang out, slow and unsure but it was Sam’s… it felt more like a month since they had talked when it had only been five days. The gentle touches of uncertainty through their bond had been the only thing keeping Dean from going crazy… well, that and the steady stream of alcohol he had been supplying his brain. He had a feeling that if he stopped drinking and his constant buzz faded his body was gonna give him hell in retaliation.

[...Hey, Dean.]

“How are… things?”

Sam laughed airily at the stiffness in Dean’s voice and that in itself melted the alpha’s worry.

[As well as they can be, I guess. Dealt with Alastair on Monday. The idiot thought he could just stand there and insult me when he picked up the box of his things he had left. Security maced him when he fought against being kicked out and started threatening to catch the building on fire. That was pretty entertaining. He won’t do it though, too much of a coward.] Dean looked at Cas but found that the beta didn’t look offended by him taking a call. In fact, he was messing with his own phone.

[I’m…I got my blood work back from the doctor.]

Dean’s heart leaped in his chest and he cleared his throat, still a little scratchy from choking “Yeah?” He tried to sound casual but he couldn’t disguise that ting of hope in his voice. He blamed in on his slightly inebriated state.

[So… I, um, think we should meet up and talk, and then, we could go back to my place- I haven't looked yet. I’m too…not really anxious but something like it, ya know? I just, need you to be here, Dean but I know… we need to talk before...] he trailed off there.

A grin spread onto Dean’s face. God, it was agony not seeing Sam as long as he had. “And I want to be there, Sammy.” There was a long sigh into the phone and the omega lowered his voice so that only Dean could hear him. “I’m sorry about pushing you away like this, Dean. It’s just… hard to take all this in.”

Dean knew what Sam meant. It had taken until well into the night that followed Mary’s bombshell that guilt and shame had tried to creep under his skin. Alone in his apartment. His sheets had still smelt like the sex they had stained it with despite the wash he had put it through twice. Maybe it’s lingering was more apparent to his keen sense of smell. 

He remembered standing in the doorway of his bedroom, all the lights in the apartment off and just the glow of some paid program bullshit on the tv was letting him see the vague shape of the bed. There had been yet another bottle in his hand- _how many had that been, Dean?_ The voice of his conscience that sounded suspiciously like Cas asked inside his head. _Twelve? Fourteen? What do you think Sam would think if he knew about that?_

The bed. He needed to focus on the bed. It had smelt like Sam… his brother. And what had he done? All alone, barely standing on the weights he called his legs, he had felt his guilt and second guessing take flight, it had disappeared the moment the ghosts of himself and Sam appeared on the bed, projected by his mind. 

The memory of their tangled limbs in a slow, savoring grinding motion. It was one of his absolutely favorite memories with Sam. His mate had been red faced and sweaty but had never looked away from him. An affectionate grin splayed across his face as he ran his hands across Dean’s face. Sam and him, no matter what they were supposed to be, would always be this. Love, comfort, support, endearment, affection for each other. He couldn’t be guilty for what they had done, and there was no way in hell he could be ashamed of what he and Sam were or what was to follow between them.

[Dean?]

The alpha came out of his thoughts with a small jolt. Remembering Sam was on the other line. What had they been talking about? Oh, right. “I get it, Sam. I hate it and kinda think it’s stupid but ‘can’t make you warm up to the idea by forcin’ you to be around me.” He realized after a moment that he had just called what Sam was doing to cope ‘stupid’ and added in hopes of clarifying “Nothin’s really different, Sammy.”

[I don’t really want to talk about this right now. Just, I’ll send you an address to meet me at- And if you want to come don’t piss me off, Dean.]

With that, the line went dead. Dean sat his phone down on the table and groaned loudly. “And I nail it again.” He muttered sarcastically and Cas gives a smile without looking up from his phone “Sometimes you say insensitive things.”

“Thank you, Cas. ‘Cause I really needed that little reminder.” When the beta just went on typing the alpha’s irritation with himself shifted to Castiel’s phone “What’re you even doing?” That got him to look up “Oh. My cousin Kelly’s son Jack told me I should start a Twitter-“

Dean held up his hand “Stop. I don’t wanna know.”

“So, What did Sam want?”

The alpha finished off his beer and gestured to the waiter to give him another “He wants me to meet him somewhere.” Castiel didn’t need to know about the pregnancy possibility just yet. If it turned out to be true then he’d tell him with Sam but right now was not the right time. 

Castiel hadn’t been disgusted when his friend had told him about what Mary had said. Incest wasn’t illegal between alpha and omega’s because the government didn’t care how the babies were made, they just wanted more omegas, but it was mostly only practiced in the boondocks of America where population was scares. If Castiel knew one thing, it was you don’t choose who you fall in love with. His relationship with Crowley was proof of that. He knew how smitten they were with each other- how happy they were together and that was all that really mattered to Cas. Dean was grateful for being able to trust his closest friend with this information without the risk of being pushed away.

Castiel gave him an incredulous look just as the waiter set the third beer in front of the alpha “Dean, I mean this in the nicest way that something like this could be said, but you smell like a saloon. I have a feeling Sam won’t be happy with you if you show up like that, so..” here the beta took the untouched beer from in front of his friend cautiously “I don’t think you should be having this- and here.” He gave the now glaring alpha a small metal tin of mints he pulled from his pocket. 

“I would suggest putting all of them in your mouth.”


	56. An Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winding down to the end of the story now. It may be a bit premature but I want to let you all know that just by saying you enjoy reading my story and or look forward to the updates makes my day. You are all wonderful, lovely people. Even if you don’t leave a comment I still appreciate you taking the time to read my story.
> 
> Mushy feelings of gratitude aside, enjoy!

It was cold. Twenty degrees cold, to be exact. Snow was on the ground and not for the first time he wished baby had a better heater. He cruised down a residential street. Every house shining with Christmas lights. It couldn’t be later than five but the sun was down for the day. It wasn’t snowing at the moment but the whether lady had promised a flurry around eight and into the early hours of the next day.

And then there was the address Sam had given him. 

There were no lights on this house. It was dark and the snow wasn’t shoveled from the driveway like all the other houses. Probably because there was a for sale sign, meaning nobody lived there anymore…

Oh, duh. This was his old house, could he be anymore thick?

He parked the impala as close as he could to the curb with the snowbank covering the actual curb. He looked over the dingy house that obviously hadn’t been taken care of very well and felt a shudder run through his body. This was the place a major pivoting point in both Sam and Dean’s history happened. The moment unborn Sammy was whisked away from John the abuser. The moment Dean watched from the stair railing as his mother left him with his raging drunk of a father in the panic of the moment.

His teeth clenched at the thought. Dean had accepted what had happened had happened to save Sam but there was still an anger and frustration that surfaced as he got out of the car and looked at the house. The anger was at his father for ruining their happy little life as a family. The frustration was at Mary- his mom. Guess he would start needing to think of her as that now- for hiding him away from Sam. If Dean hadn’t walked straight into Sam’s life, would she have never told him about his older brother?

His eyes finally tore away from staring up at the house to Sam getting up from where he sat on the porch steps. Neither of them said anything, the omega simply came over to stand next to Dean, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his thick black jacket . The alpha thought about shoving his freezing hand down into that pocket and tangling his fingers with Sam’s but he stopped himself from doing it. He should be grateful Sam even was standing this close to him. Hopefully this little meetup wasn’t just to tell him that Sam wanted a bond break or something equally as devastating.

They hadn’t even been keeping track of how long they stood side by side there, staring up at the monument to their disaster of a family. And then, with the clearing of his throat, Sam spoke, quietly, as if he was scared of hearing his own voice.

“Uh, you know, I talked to the realtor. He said a family already bought it so we can’t go inside or anything, but… Is this okay?” He sounded worried, as if Dean would be mad with that. Dean shook his head and glanced over at Sam who was biting his lip nervously. He hesitated a moment, then reached out and _did_ shove his hand into Sam’s pocket after all.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to go that deep anyway. It’d only bring me down. Have you talked to… Mary?”

Sam was quiet for a moment but Dean was happy to see that he had relaxed a bit when the alpha had ventured to grab hold of his hand. “Yeah, she called me the night after crying and apologized for whatever she had said. I told her she needs to talk about her problem and that I wouldn’t be able to visit her again until she did something about the ‘moods’ she gets in more and more recently.” “Good.” Was all the alpha said, drawing the conversation to an abrupt end. They stayed quiet for another moment until Sam shifted on his feet uneasily. “Geez, Dean. You’re hand feels like an iceberg.” Dean shrugged and cast another glance at his mate. The cold had made Sam’s nose red and that made him crack a small smile “I don’t have warm pockets like you do.”

The breath was nearly taken out of his lungs when Sam was the one to knot their fingers together in the warmth of his pocket. Now it was time they got to the serious talking. The air around them seemed to tighten a fraction and then Sam was facing his mate. Dean turned to look at him as well but neither bothered to pull their hands apart leading to them standing nearly chest to chest.

“I thought a lot about us, Dean.” Sam started sternly, biting his lip so much, Dean wondered if he would create a serious crater in that poor bottom lip. 

“I thought about… just ending our bond, trying to go back to how things were before.” Here he looked away, not being able to meet Dean’s eye when the alpha looked so heartbroken “That what you want, Sammy?” He didn’t care if he sounded as distressed as he felt, he could feel all his insides twisting up into one horrible knot at the very idea of a bond break between them. He would rather die in all honesty because life without Sam-

“No!” Sam suddenly shouted and that got Dean’s attention, he looked as if Dean had smacked him in the face by even suggesting that. He took his hand back from Dean’s and took a step back to think straight “I said I thought about it… and I realized I really couldn’t see myself going back to being _that_ Sam. You made me like myself again and I love you, Dean, I really do. I can’t just pretend what I feel for you is some sort of mistake.”

He took a deep breath, looking over Dean, almost as if appraising him “I thought… I wouldn’t be able to touch you without feeling like it was wrong… but you know what I found out about myself? I don’t give a fuck, Dean.”

That brought a grin to the alpha’s face and a huff of laughter escaped his lips in a white cloud of vapor from the cold. “I don’t give a fuck either, Sam.”

The omega grinned back and it was only a matter of seconds before they were both pulling each other into a much needed embrace. The constant presence of their bond pulling them together, strengthened by the hurtle they overcame. Warmth from their bodies pressed so tightly together seemed to melt the cold around them.

 

Sam opened the door for Dean and himself. Taking off his scarf and tossing it in some random direction. Both of them knew what was next and their expressions were the mirror of nervousness.

The alpha’s army green jacket and a plain black tee-shirt, faded loose fitting jeans- an outfit that had all but become a staple of Dean’s- was not a warm enough outfit for the weather outside and he was grateful for the warmth of the apartment. 

Dean took the initiative when they had managed to get the door close and pulled Sam back into his arms. They needed the physical contact after almost a week of denying each other such a thing and they had had a hell of a time lately- the simple press of their chests together- their scents mingling and comforting each other was like medicine to ease the pain of their emotionally frayed nerves. 

Though, reluctantly, Sam pulled away. He studied Dean’s face as if just now really seeing it.

“Hi.” Sam mumbled. That made the alpha crack a smile and the heavy scent of uncertainty lifted, if only a little. “Hi yourself.” Dean lead the way to Sam’s living room with his brother in toe. Brother, huh? Now that was a title he was still getting use to. Probably one he would never use if he was being honest.

The omega looked away and his eyes landed on the unopened envelope he had left on the newly purchased coffee table. The apartment was finally starting to look like he actually lived there and he guessed that it was a reflection of his much better self image since Dean had shown him that just being himself was okay. 

The envelope, though… now that held the answers to where they would be going from where they were.

Dean’s attention was drawn to the envelope sitting intimidatingly in the center of the wood table. Sam took a deep breath and went over to grab the results. The alpha took a seat on the couch and Sam took up the spot next to him.

The sound of the seal tearing was deafening in the utterly silent room. The results were slowly unfolded and Dean squeezed Sam’s leg comfortingly when he noticed his hands were shaking. They skimmed over the doctor's notes of wanting to see Sam again to make sure his chemical imbalance from all the blockers wasn’t too drastic and went straight for the results. Breaths were held, the tension peaking.

It took them both a moment to understand what they were reading but when they did, Dean froze where he was. Sam beside him let out an uneven breath before grabbing hold of Dean’s hand. It snapped Dean out of his blank stare at the now empty vase across from the couch. The little sprout of flowers having given up the fight against winter and dead. He turned to look at his mate, his Sammy looking at him with such honest worry. Worry that Dean was mad at the result. Quite the opposite, really. He grabbed hold of his mate and pulled him to his chest as emotions he had never thought he would feel for something like this flooded his systems.

Sam was still in shock for a minute, looking at the paper again and just staring at the results. Dean’s instincts were in overdrive wanting to touch and kiss his mate all over. And he gave into that desire. Sam needed his love and support now more than ever.

“Positive.” He finally said out loud as if to do so would make it feel more real. It didn’t. Dean was pressing sweet, affectionate kisses to his neck and the happiness that slowly started radiating off of the omega was nauseatingly infectious. Sam dropped the results and pulled Dean- if possible- closer to him. A smile was cresting his lips and a wetness was forming in his eyes but not yet falling.

“Sammy.”  
“Hm?”  
“This is… holy shit.”  
Sam laughed into the fabric of Dean’s jacket “You can say that again.”

 

“No, I mean, well, yes- but more than that… it’s our- or it will be our kid.” He pulled back from the embrace, his eyes resting on Sam’s nearly flat stomach. If you were really looking for it you could see how the small curve in Sam’s shirt covered chest could be the nearly two month surprise. 

Sam hesitantly reach out and pulled one of Dean’s hand to his face to feel soft warmth against him as a way to remain calm. Bad thoughts were not permitted in this moment. Sam took a sharp breath in when Dean pressed his hand against his stomach, slack jaw wonder and utter curiosity on the alpha’s face but the worry and fear was still there, in the downward twitch of his lover’s lips. That set Sam’s heart aching in the worst way. He wished Dean wasn’t so scared of hurting people- through the entirety of their relationship thus far, Dean had never given him a reason to think he was dangerous or unkind, so it hurt to know his mate doubted himself so much.

“This is freakin’ insane, Sam.”

Sam knew what he meant. The baby was, after all, the product of their love at work. The product of incest. But oddly enough, that thought didn’t bother him anymore. He had had a lot of time to think and now he was coming to believe Dean was right; even if he had known Dean was his brother, he probably would have ended up falling for him anyway. They were true mates after all.

A fear of how or what the future was to be with this drastic and sudden adaptation of their lives hit Sam. He could almost hear the stirring of the ‘beta Sam’ voice inside his head, telling him just what omega’s were good for and how he had taken to being a hole to fuck so perfectly but he pushed it away as Dean rubbed his face against the side of his mate’s head. He took a deep breath of Sam’s sweet smelling scent and felt the fear dissipate.

“I’m here, Sammy. I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon so there ain’t nothing to be scared of. I’ll keep you safe. ‘Sides, happiness smells better on you.”

The tender moment was drawn out, scenting each other and enjoying agonizingly slow and sloppy kisses. Interrupted temporarily when Dean spouted a stupid comment about naming their kid Dean jr. just to annoy the hell out of Sam. When they returned to filling the apartment with the melodic sounds of their lips smacking together and fabric rubbing on fabric they wordlessly agreed that it was about time they went back to their nest together.

Dean’s shirt was left in the living room and his pants were left in the hall. His phone tucked in his pocket along with his keys, a few strips of gum and his wallet. His phone vibrated with a text and went silent.

JOHN: Why the hell are you ignoring me?

Twelve minutes past. The hallway silent besides the occasional murmur of voices behind the shut bedroom door at the end of the hall.

The phone gave a final vibrate for the night.

JOHN: I’m in town so when you get your head outta your ass call me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I’m sure you all know what is coming next. Stick around for more!


	57. Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hello. Just realized I must’ve named one on the chapters on the document I wrote the story out on the wrong number... says this chapter is 58 Instead of 57...
> 
> So good news for you guys I guess because that means I have to rearrange the epilogue. It will be a two part epilogue. I will get to work on chapter 60 soon.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Dean finally got Sam to look at housing with him and the real estate agent was all too happy to show an alphaomega couple around the more suburban area though Sam hated the almost disappointed look on her face when she looked him over. Probably didn’t like the fact that when Dean suggested jokingly that they should look at houses with inside pools Sam had shot him down immediately. She seemed like one of those old fashion alphas that thought omegas were best seen and not heard. She also took everything Dean jokingly remarked or suggested as an honest request. Sam had really not cared enough to tell her that Dean was pulling her leg. 

The alpha agent had asked them if they had any plans of starting a family and they shared looks of hesitation. He wasn’t showing- male omegas had a tendency to not show very much until five months on their first pregnancy so it was understandable- But they had finally agreed that it was fine to mention that they already were expecting. The real estate had congratulated them ecstatically, probably just then understanding why the other alpha had growled every time she had gotten ‘too close’ to his mate. 

She had then showed them to a house ‘perfect for starting a family’ and for once, Dean didn’t think what she told them was a bull faced lie just to sell a property to the infuriating young couple.

It was small, three bedrooms, and two bath. And it was perfect, actually in their price range… but it was also three hours away. Some old little town on the outskirts of Lebanon. Well, Dean _had_ told her that they were open to moving out of Lawrence. 

On the way back they had had a fairly heated argument in which they had spat the reasons to stay in Lawrence and all the reasons to leave. Of course Sam had brought up their mentally unstable mother as a reason to stay but Dean and been quick to turn that back around and used Mary as one of the reason to leave. Something along the lines of “She’s draining you, Sam. It may not be on purpose but she hurts you when she gets in that weird zombie trance.”

“She’s going to a therapy thing- she’s at least trying to get better.” Sam had growled followed by the refusals to talk the rest of the way back. It hadn’t been as if Dean was forbidding the both of them from seeing their mother, but he thought some distance would do good for Sam. He would like a chance to talk to Mary- really talk, but only when she was in her right mind and sometimes it was hard to tell when and if that would be.

Of course, the omega hadn’t protested when his mate drove him to his own apartment and not Sam’s. He was still annoyed but it was mostly at his own inability to stay pissed off at Dean. One of his extremely Dean looks and Sam was back to putting up with the alpha’s stupidity. But he supposed Dean made a fair point; Lawrence was sort of a toxic environment for them. It was they garbage dump of both of their pasts. Starting over in a place no one knew them was a refreshing idea but there was still his mom and both of their jobs and friends living here and he wasn’t sure if he could give that all up yet.

“We don’t have to move right away, Sam.” Dean tried as they took the stairs up to to apartment on the second floor. Sam grunted “And camute three hours to work? Don’t answer that- let’s just, drop it for now, Okay?”

Dean was about to protest when they reached the landing of Dean’s place and he saw a familiar bulky frame in a leather jacket leaning against his door. Waiting- smoking- since when had he started smoking?

That wasn’t important at the moment. Alphas always become more aggressive towards other alphas when their mate is pregnant… but Dean’s knowledge of how just aggressive this alpha in particular could be drove him to put a hand out to stop Sam from walking any closer.

John had already taken notice to them. His eyes immediately locking onto Sam. Dean growled deep in his throat and commanded “Sam, take the keys and go wait in the car.” His mate was looking uncomprehending between the two “Uh, Why?” “Just go!” 

John stepped closer to them, no more than thirty feet away and the moment he stepped into a well lit section of the hall and Sam could see his face, pure and utter horror filled him. Any thoughts of listening to Dean and going down to the car to wait- or even telling Dean off for trying to order him around- left him. 

John’s face drew more and more into a snarl the closer he got. He recognized Sam and was flashing his teeth at the bitch that didn’t know his place. The semi rational part of the older Winchester’s mind noted that this Omega was obviously mated to his son now by the scent of him and that maybe he should be watching where he stepped in this situation- but his alpha roared for revenge of his pride. Wanted him to pin this omega to the floor and beat the shit outta his prettyboy face.

Omega fear cut through the air. Dean didn’t like this situation. He didn’t like feeling Sam’s fear, it put him on edge. And he sure as hell didn’t like the look on his father’s face or the obvious smell of alcohol either. His teeth ached and his stomach turned unpleasantly. Blood. Instinct told him to launch himself at the offending predator. What the fuck did John even think he was doing looking at his Sam- his mate?

“You’ve been seein’ a bitch? ‘Sat why you haven’t been answerin’ me?”

Dean clenched his teeth, showing them as a warning when John took another step forward. Drunk. He was just drunk, Dean brain tried to explain but he was just kidding himself. Look what he had fucking done to their mother for Christ’s sake! He pushed Sam mostly behind him. A steady rumble of a growl vibrating in his chest. “So much for staying sober.” Dean muttered and reached into his pocket for his phone to call the cops but stopped when another wave of fear ran through their bond and a whimper escaped his mate’s mouth.

Painful flashes of white across his eyes and then he was seeing a distorted, not quite understandable feeling. A burning pain in his throat- and then he could almost see Sam’s thoughts. The alpha in front of them had been the one that tried to sell Sam- for _FUCKS_ sake. 

It disappeared but it left him reeling. He felt absolute revolution partially on his own accord but it was also Sam’s. Nauseous. He wanted to throw up. How much more fucked up could their family get? In Dean daze, Sam had calmed his fear somewhat and was growling curses at the man who was supposedly his long lost father.

But curses weren’t enough. The man that had attacked Sam, tried to sell him like an object, was his father- Sam’s father as well if Mary was truthful in her devotion to her first marriage. 

“I’m gonna beat the shit out of you!” Dean didn’t give a fuck about respect for his former alpha… he launched a fist right into John’s snarling face when he came at the angry, unsubmissive omega. It connected with his nose and sent the older alpha falling hard on his back. Dean’s inner alpha was busting out. His rage so intense that he let go of the controls and let himself do something he had never done before. He let his alpha rage take over completely. He was on top of John in seconds. The need to kill him unbearable.

Fist after fist struck the drunk. “You sonnava bitch! You hurt my omega- MY OMEGA!” John’s face was a bloody mess. Not so much with his own blood but with Dean’s. He had sunk his teeth into his son’s hand when he went to punch him in the mouth. The skin had been torn deeply on the back of his hand but Dean hadn’t stopped. He laid into John’s face until he finally managed to knock the bastard out. But even that wasn’t enough. He couldn’t stop himself. This monster had hurt his mother, himself, and Sam. His alpha didn’t see any reason he should let him live.

Sam was yanking at Dean trying to make him stop but the alpha hadn’t even noticed his mate yelling at him. Sam grabbed Dean under his arms and yanked him back as hard as he could. It threw the ball of rage off balance but the moment he realized what was happening he yanked himself free from Sam and stood abruptly. He then kicked the older Winchester in the stomach a few times. His breathing was erratic, his eyes blown to nearly black. He was shaking with rage. A foot came down on John’s arm and there was a horrendous cracking noise that jump started the older alpha again with a shout of pain.

John kicked Dean in the knee, making it buckle on him. The younger alpha hissed at the pain but it broke away into a roar of anger when his father grabbed hold of his neck with the arm that wasn’t broken. He shoved his thumb into his Adam’s apple trying to choke him out. Dean gagged, the pressure cutting off his air as his hands grasped at his father’s broken arm, trying to make him let go of him. But it only managed to draw another yell of pain. John wasn’t letting go. He slammed Dean’s head into the metal guardrail, trying to knock him out fast.

And he was about to do it again, send Dean to the land of darkness, when a shoe collided with the side of the older Winchester’s head.

John went limp on the ground at the omega’s feet.

Carefully, very carefully, Sam grabbed hold of his mate’s shoulder again, gently turning Dean to face him. He was crying like an idiot but he paid that no mind. Dean had just snapped and was a whirlwind of alpha anger. And he was bleeding on the side of his head as he gasped to take in air again. Sam would be lying if he said he wasn’t just a little scared.

He grabbed hold of Dean’s face in his hands and stroked his thumbs across the stubble of his cheeks.

“Dean, it’s okay, calm down now.” 

A growl rumbled out of the alpha aggressively but the words were horse coming from his raw throat “That bastard, he touch my omega- hurt MY fucking omega! I’m gonna kill him, I’m gonna-“ Sam pressed his forehead into Dean’s firmly and a twinkle a clearity came back to Dean’s eyes. Sam focused on calming the fear in his scent that was fueling the alpha and tried to send comforting pheromones to his mate.

It took a while, but eventually Dean came down from his rage. He was worn out. The gravity of what he had just done to his father not seeming to bother him that much compared to the awful regret he repeatedly apologized to Sam about making the omega watch and shoving him off him when he had tried to intervene. How grateful he was that Sam had saved him from his head being bashed in. 

Sam was just glad he had been able to pull Dean out. 

They hadn’t needed to call the cops. A few neighbors too bothered to come out of their apartments to see what was happening had called. Sam and Dean had explained that Dean’s father had threatened Sam and their unborn child (an embellishment, but Sam would say anything if it kept Dean from getting booked) and Dean’s instincts had taken over.

The cop was an alpha father of three and had an understanding of how easy it was to lose it in such a circumstance. The two of them kept their mouths shut when he had gone on about keeping Sam inside unless necessary. Of course, Dean flipped the cop off when he turned his back to them. Sam couldn’t help but smile a little at that. An ambulance had shown up for John and one of the EMTs took a look at Dean’s hand and his head. He’d need stitches in the hand, but luckily, there wasn’t much more than a shallow cut and some bruising on the side of his head. No sign of concussion, though.

The EMT had forced Sam to sit down and put a shock blanket over his shoulder, ignoring all his protests of being fine. The woman had been convinced that, ‘as an omega’ (as the sayings always go) witnessing such a fight could cause all sorts of dangers. When he passed the SSS test (shock, stress, seizure) standard protocol for EMTs dealing with omega’s, the beta woman had allowed him to take the blanket off but told Dean to avoid putting his mate in stressful situations. The alpha nearly bit her head off when she repeated that Dean should keep his omega inside. Agitation was still setting his nerves alight from the fight and he was tempted to just go off on this lady. But his head hurt like a bitch so he just gritted his teeth.

Sam had almost laughed at the fact that the EMT was worried about Sam’s stress levels when Dean looked like he was grating his teeth down to stubs.

Sam hadn’t driven in almost three years. After he had his first major breakdown when he lived in California (three weeks after the ‘incident’) Sam had shredded his driver’s license and any other paper or object that told him he was an omega. He couldn’t stand seeing it anywhere. But that didn’t bother him anymore and maybe some day soon he’d go into the DMV and get a new print of his license. He would be damn if he let Dean drive to the hospital with his hand in the condition it was in. License or not.

“Dean. Keys. Now.” Sam demanded as they reached the parking garage. The alpha was clutching his wounded hand against his chest. The EMT had cleaned the deep bite mark and wrapped it up but had advised him to go to the hospital because he needed stitches.

Dean scowled at the ground “No offense, Sammy, but I think you’re out of practice.” This was getting them nowhere. With a long exhale from his nose, Sam cut in front of his mate and stopped him in his tracks. He hadn’t been able to see it before but Dean’s eyes were starting to dilated again.They were nearly as black as they had been when he had been fighting John. Sam _had_ however, noticed the unsettled, anxious energy buzzing around the alpha’s fists. Dean was working himself up again just thinking about the other alpha.

There was a moment in which they just looked at the fear, anger, and exhaustion from the whole ordeal written on each other’s faces. Then, Sam took up the uninjured hand- it was freezing from the cold and shaking. He searched Dean’s eyes with just the slightest bit of hesitation. And whatever Dean saw on his face broke the controlled composure and an expression of anguish took over.

“I should’ve killed him.” Sam offered a bitter smile “You gave him what he deserved. Anymore and you would be taken away from me.” Dean looked away solemnly. He looked as if he _had_ lost Sam already with such pain seeping off of him. 

That’s when Sam pulled Dean to him and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Reassurance, a way to show his mate that he knew his pain- felt it through their bond. Dean kissed him back and subconsciously, Dean’s hands stopped shaking. 

Sam leaned back. He wore that trademarked dimpled grin of his that he was up to something. He held up Dean’s keys he had swiped from the alpha’s coat pocket, giving them a little shake to make them gingle as he backed further away from Dean and closer to the car.

“C’mon. I’m not letting you drive with your hand messed up.” There was hesitation but then Dean gave a grunt of approval and followed Sam towards the car but not before calling “You’re lucky I think that spunk of yours is cute or there would be no chance in hell I’d let you behind the wheel of her.” “Uh-huh. Sure. Just get in the car, Dean.” 

The waiting room had taken forever. Same was honestly surprised how many people wandered into the emergency room at nearly eleven. They had parked themselves in the uncomfortable chairs to wait and had dozed for a while before Dean was finally called back. Twelve stitches later and they were heading to Sam’s apartment. It didn’t settle well with either of them to return to Dean’s for the time being. 

On the drive Dean had insisted that his hand was fine and that he wanted to drive the two of them. 

“Thanks… for stopping me, I guess.” The alpha muttered and Sam gave a node. Of course they would talk of all that happened the following day but for now, they let the silence stay where it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John was gonna die... but then there was the whole disposal of the body to write... and it was just a tad too dark for _this_ story. 
> 
> Stick around for more!


	58. Reconciling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I found that missing chapter. Turns out I posted 55 as 54. But I didn’t want to go back and change a whole lot so I just added the wouldbe chapter 54 to the beginning of 54. So go check it out if you want. It was a fairly short chapter anyways. 
> 
> I am still working on chapter 60 so bare with me. Hopefully it will be finished soon but for the moment it’s got about 100 words and that’s it.
> 
> Anyway, Enjoy~

Things went on as usual. For once, actually, things were going good for them. The drama had dissipated. John Winchester was in lock up for the next eighteen months- something about violating his parole by leaving Kentucky- plus the twelve months for battery against Dean and threatening to kill an unborn child likely to be tacked on the upcoming March. John’s defense attorney had tried to get the second accusation removed from discovery. Normally, something like lying to a court would have killed Sam inside, but he didn’t care if it was a false claim. It was John’s word against Dean and his and he wanted to see their father locked away for the longest term possible. 

Luckily, due to the sensitive situation of Dean’s testataron roaring like a burning flame in direct response to Sam’s pregnancy, to avoid him being set off by the site of his father, the judge had asked Dean as well as Sam to submit written testimony. They would win. Sam had the utmost confidence in Charlie representing them. But as an extra precaution, Sam had done what he did best and got a restraining order against their father and they both felt good about that decision.

Sam was stiff with nerves. It was Christmas Eve and things were hectic. Dean’s lease had reached its end and they had held their breaths and made the jump to moving the alpha’s things into Sam’s apartment. It was temporary, they had almost reached a final decision on which house they were going to buy so only the essentials were pulled from Dean’s boxes, which- to Sam’s dread- was nearly everything. 

They had been under one roof together for nearly a week and they were settling in nicely. There was the occasional moment when Dean felt something bothering his mate and he was happy that for a change Sam was trying his best to be honest about what was upsetting him. Dean was trying to do the same but Sam had accepted Dean was especially closed off when it came to John. They had talked about the fight outside of Dean’s apartment and they were both on the same page about John having it coming to him and since then, mentioning their father had been taboo. Why ruin the happiness they had fallen into?

They hadn’t yet met with Mary since they day they had come back from Bobby’s. Dean was bitter about how she handled it all- angry she would suggest that she knew what was best for them when she hadn’t been there for either of them. Sam had been… mostly saddened by his mother. He had talked to her nearly every day on the phone since then. He was scared that if he pushed her away completely she might do something to herself with her declining mental condition. Dean didn’t want that to happen as much as Sam. He couldn’t disown Mary like he had John. She was fucked up but weren’t they all? He couldn’t fault her for that. He just needed… time.

Sam had reported to Dean that Mary had gone to her first therapist meeting and was asking for a chance to see them on eve Christmas. To apologize. They were both hesitant to let her in again but it had been two weeks and they would hear her out. So Sam had invited her over for dinner with the promise that she would try to stay out of that dark spot of her mind that made her say things without thinking how it might affect others.

Regrettably, Sam had a stack of documents for clients he needed to fax and look over before he could get home and help Dean with what must be a disaster of cooking. Charlie wasn’t in- actually, quite a lot of people were not in. Sam of the past had never wanted to go home on the holidays to an empty apartment. He had at least his mother on Christmas morning and Thanksgiving But Christmas Eve had always been just him and work. Several of his clients had thanked him profusely for working on a holiday and he had always said it was fine… but now he would have start telling his clients no. Next years Christmas… Dean and Sam would be celebrating their  
baby’s first Christmas.

“Campbell!” A happy voice called and scared Sam half to death with its suddenness. It was Charles Shurley which had Sam’s eyes nearly bugging out of his head. “Mr.Shurley-“ he held up his hand to stop Sam there but the smile hadn’t fallen from his face “Just call me Chuck.” ‘Just call him _Chuck_ ’? Sam’s mind screamed. Shurley was the founder of the firm for fucks sake! He had known that eventually someone from the board would come and see about the rebellious omega lawyer that had wormed his way into the alpha dominated field of law that they begrudgingly wrote paychecks for. But he sure as hell didn’t think that Charles- Chuck would come.

“You heading out? Word of mouth says you bonded to some rich lawyer from another firm. Though, I’m guessing that last part is just some random gossip.” Rumors and whispers about him had reached that high that even Chuck had heard them? Sam didn’t know whether he should be fuming or just absolutely embarrassed that even after a month and a half people were still cataloging every single little thing he did.

“Yes, I’m bonded but my mate isn’t another lawyer.” Dean as a lawyer? That was hilarious. Chuck shrugged “Thought as much.” There was an awkward silence and Sam cleared his throat to make sure his voice didn’t crack when he next spoke “Was there something you wanted specifically, sir?” “ _Chuck_ \- And nothing particularly, I don’t want to hold you up from getting home to your mate, just…” he closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them it was as if he was looking into Sam’s soul.

“I just want you to know, I appreciate your bravery. You knew this would be hard, that people would put you down for what you are but you fought it. You didn’t let all these rumors get to you. And I bet your alpha is a diamond in the ruff when it comes to support… I mean, I can’t imagine a regular knothead approving of this sort of work.” 

Sam didn’t know what to say- to any of it. Too shocked that the head of the whole firm was admiring his defiance of the law. Then Sam saw it, that knowing look in those piercing blue eyes. He managed to keep his jaw from dropping open but Chuck must’ve still seen the realization as he took to looking around Sam’s office for a moment before meeting his eyes again with a sadness in those eyes “You’re an inspiration, Sam- can I call you Sam? I don’t think I could be as brave as you put in the same situation.” 

“Sir-“ Chuck laughed and Sam caught himself and amended “Chuck, I…” but Sam really didn’t know what to say. If he really looked at the ‘alpha’ standing in front of him, he could see it. He was short, slender… Sam had never met anyone like himself before. He wanted to ask and say so much but it just wouldn’t come out of his mouth. 

The alpha patted Sam good naturally on the shoulder before walking towards the office door but not before calling back “Just know you have my support. As long as I own this firm, I promise omega lawyers are just as welcome as alpha or beta lawyers. Merry Christmas, Sam.” 

The whole taxi ride home was spent running every word Chuck had said to him back through his head. Sam was jittery with energy. He felt bad for him. Being an omega lawyer was one thing, an owner and a board member of a highly successful law firm was another. But it was great to know he wasn’t alone, there were others. Just the other day, a prominent doctor announced publicly that she was an omega. Maybe, the world was getting just a little bit better. The prospect put him in a good mood coming from work for the first time. Ever.

Dean instantly felt Sam’s good mood when he came through the front door, which brought a smile to his face from where he stood in the kitchen. 

“I’m home.” The omega announced from the entryway and Dean turned around just as Sam tangled his arms up around his mate’s neck. The alpha pressed his face into the crook of Sam’s shoulder and took a deep breath of the purely Sammy scent “Welcome home.”

A pur rumbled in the omega’s chest when he felt Dean’s lips pressing open mouth kisses to the bond mark. “I see you’ve been busy today.” Sam observed. In the living room, Dean had set up the Christmas tree had insisted on hauling up the apartments three flight of stairs all by himself, there was a string of lights around the living room… but the kitchen looked as though a bomb had detonated some time ago.

“Yep. I could use some help with peeling some potatoes. Ham’s in the oven already- boy, was that a bitch to fit in your tiny ass oven.” The alpha pulled away enough to looked at the mess on the counters with disdain. It was definitely not the alpha’s favorite job posing as a holiday homemaker but he accepted that he couldn’t very well make Sam do all the cooking after he got home from work. Plus, on a scale of horrible to not good at cooking, Dean thought he himself fell a little more to the not good side than Sam did.

Mary showed up at five exactly with sparkling cider and a fresh baked cherry pie. She was smiling but it was framed with scent of worry. Worry that she wouldn’t be welcome by her sons anymore. Sam had eased some of those worries by pulling her in for a hug and telling her Merry Christmas not as an obligational greeting but really truly meaning it. Dean was a bit more stiff. He hugged her but there was a unsureness to it that just couldn’t be avoided at this point. If things went well, it would hopefully start to be better between them. 

They started off the meal keeping to relative safe topics. Mary mentioned briefly that she liked her therapist and had a good feeling about his ability to help her. Sam asked about the London calls Mary had mentioned she had been ignoring, knowing full well it was Ketch on the other line. She was happy to report he almost never called anymore. Then there was a lull in the conversation and all of them knew what was coming. What they needed to talk about.

“I really regret the way I handled things. I wasn’t… myself. But that isn’t an excuse for how I told you boys.” Mary bit her lip and looked between the two of them. Sam wanted to just tell his mom that it was okay, understandable with her frazzled mind. But they needed to tell her exactly what they planned to do from now and onwards.

How do you start to tell your mother something like this, though?

“It, um, definitely was a shock but...I love Dean, mom. I can’t change how I feel.” Sam started, and felt nerves eating away at his stomach but they settled when Dean laced his fingers with his on top of the table. Showing Mary that was just how they were. “And I love Sam. We’re true mates, so actually, I think it would be pretty much impossible to break our bond without killing ourselves.” His words were blunt and crude even to his own ears but Dean’s buffer from hurt was defense, anger, indifference. 

Mary looked at their interlocked fingers, took a deep breath and then looked up at them with a small hesitant smile “Okay. I don’t want to say I understand what you both feel, and if you believe you’re true mates then I _really_ can’t understand that either…” she looked between them and bit her lip so harsh that the skin tore between her teeth and a dot of blood appeared just to be quickly licked away. “I really just want you both to be happy, and if your happiness comes from being together then… I want to try and support your decisions.”

Dean smiled, he felt such relief wash over their bond at Mary’s words. Sam gave an almost baffled laugh. The older omega still looked a little worried and Dean felt a bit bad for telling Sam they needed to get far away from her. She was being extra careful with what she said because she didn’t want them to push her away.

“Actually, I guess now is as good as any to tell you you’re gonna be a grandma soon.” Sam announced and the joy in his mother’s expression wasn’t forced, she lit up. She couldn’t just sit there anymore, she got up and went around the side of the table to hug Sam tightly and saying how she had just known it, that his scent was sweeter.

When she hugged Dean, he was surprised that it was already warmer than the one they had shared in greeting that evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, I made a God/Chuck joke if you didn’t catch it... because he’s an alpha but actually an omega. Get it? Yes? No?
> 
> Yeah... it was a pretty lame joke.


	59. Movin’ Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for yet another late update. Life is a hectic thing sometimes. I finished writing the very last chapter though, so yay! I spellchecked half ass on this chapter so sorry if there are tons of mistakes.
> 
> Enjoy!

In the end, Lebanon was just too much of a detachment. The idea of starting over- of running away from their problems was desirable in thought only. Mary was becoming more involved, Benny and Charlie depended on them at work, and Cas needed **_someone_** to vent to about his confusion and frustrations to. It was just unpractical what with Sam just getting back to a normal work schedule. 

Lawrence would stay their home and even Dean found himself comforted by the idea despite his insistence of moving away. 

But even with moving to a two bedroom house on the outskirts of Lawrence’s very own suburbia came with it’s fair shares of fights and frustrations. Dean’s rut was around the corner and he was almost constantly irritated. Sam would get pissed off just from smelling the irritation and they’d end up snapping at each other for the stupidest things. And then they’d find themselves apologizing a half an hour of so later. Kissing would turn to groping and from groping to fucking each other silly wherever they found themselves in the apartment at the time.

Very little progress was actually made on the matter of packing as the kissing and the sex seemed to overwhelm them. Then Dean’s rut had reared its head again and packing had been forgotten altogether as Dean knotted Sam over and over for the next three days. 

After that… well, They both had been in a much better mood.

Sam was relieved that they wouldn’t have to deal with any heats until after the baby but he we wasn’t going to lie and say he was one-hundred percent sure that letting Dean loose on his body would be as good of an idea by the time he reached his third trimester. Sam dreaded bringing it up with his mate, seeing as Dean already felt bad for letting himself indulge in his instincts. He would bring it up once they were settled into their new place. No need to add another element to their already chaotic packing situation.

Cas had come over to help with moving the furniture. Charlie and Benny couldn’t really be around Sam for more than an hour or so without Dean going absolutely berserk, so Castiel and Mary were their go to. 

Upon meeting Sam and Dean’s mother, Castiel had offered her his hand to shake and when Mary had taken it, Dean had gestured absentmindedly between the two. “Mary, Cas. Cas, Mary.” The omega woman had offered a polite smile as their handshake ended “I’m the friend who set your sons up together. I would say ‘my bad’, but they are really insufferably cute together.” the room was dead silent for a moment as Mary, Dean, and Sam tried to digest what Castiel had said. Sam had been the first to break, sputtering off into an incredulous but highly amused laugh from where he stood with his shoulder resting on the wall and arms crossed over his baggy ‘moving day’ shirt. “Did you just call Dean and I cute?” Dean shook his head at his friend as if he was embarrassed for him “Dude…”

Cas simply shrugged, not really understanding what was so weird about it. It had been his argument against Mary’s refusal to accept their love for each other. If they were cute together, what reason was there to not support them? Mary offered an understanding and gave the obviously confused beta a supportive pat on the shoulder “No need to worry, I messed up before, but I’m here and I’ll support my boys no matter what.”

“And what’s this about _you_ hooking us up? Me and Sam’re ‘predestined’ to be together.” Dean shot back teasingly with his mate joining in “Dean and I had already met when you set up that blind date.” Castiel was not amused by the tag team assault and let out a calming sigh “Yes, well, the whole Truemates really undermines my credibility. Dean couldn’t help but grin as he gave Cas a rough pat on the back “We’re just messin’ with you, Cas. You can say you were the one who got us together if you want as long as you aren’t scared of Dean jr. callin’ you uncle.”

Mary let out a groan “Please tell me that is not a name up for debate.” “No, its not.” Sam quickly confirmed as he picked an empty box up and tossed into the pile of other empty boxes on the living room floor. Cas walked with Sam over to where he had started to put the last of the loose junk lying about into a box but not before calling back “I don’t think it’s very appropriate that you call your unborn child the same name you’ve given to your penis, Dean.” Mary shot Dean a look, one of which the alpha had no idea how to respond to. She looked at him expectantly and for a moment he was able to hold eye contact before looking over where Sam and Cas then back to her “I’m just gonna… go.” she nodded as a smile started to creep up onto her face at Dean’s discomfort.

The actual moving of boxes and furnisher commenced. Sam was more than just a little annoyed with Dean not letting him help with the heavier things but of course Dean had brought up the very valid point of Sam being pregnant so the omega had reluctantly dropped the matter. 

There were still those moments, when Dean could practically see the negative thoughts circulating in Sam’s head about how worthless he thought himself to be. How him pregnant was a sign that he was just like every other omega with a singular purpose.

Their bond was helpful in that way because the moment he picked up on it, Dean stopped Sam on his way to taking some boxes from their bedroom to see how he was doing. And when Sam had sighed frustratedly, Dean knew that his mate was having one of those bad thoughts. He made Sam sit down on the edge of the bed and take some calming breaths, all the while he told Sam all the reason that voice in his head was wrong. It always took a while to convince Sam and often he’d cry about how stupid and pathetic he was before he’d finally take in Dean’s words and cling to his mate like he was the only thing keeping him up. Luckily, these were one of the better days and he just needed a moment to clear his head before Dean felt the negativity leave their bond.

It could take years to stomp out that self hate, but Dean was determined to stop it from overtaking Sam again. He liked seeing his mate as the strong, confident lawyer that he was. 

The four of them were exhausted after packing everything up in the UHaul, driving a good ten minutes, and then unloading it all at Sam and Dean’s new house. Most of boxes had just been left in the garage to deal with later. It was seven and the sun had already gone down at five. Dean ordered two pizzas and they all sat down at the on Sam’s couch the alpha had nearly thrown out his back helping Cas get into the house. He had tried to keep Sam away from all the heavy lifting but on that one he had accepted his mate’s help with.

Though tired, they had all laughed and joked around for well over an hour. Mary was the first to go, saying she would be back in the morning to help them unpack if they needed the help and Sam and Dean had both hugged her goodbye.

Cas and Dean had started on the step up of the tv with the intent of playing a movie before the beta was off for the night. But no more than five minutes into Shawshank Redemption and Castiel’s phone was going off. He excused himself from where the three of them had sat, eating the remaining slices of pizza. 

They had heard nearly everything Cas had been saying but pretended to be naive to the obvious argument with Crowley. When he returned to the room the couple had looked up to him expectantly and Cas sighed, he looked just the tiniest bit distressed as he spoke “Looks like I have to leave, guys. Crowley is angry.”

“Why? What’s that bastard mad about this time?” Dean growled. “I may have told him I would definitely not forget about the reservation he made tonight.” His eyes fell to the side as he gathered up his coat “I’m sorry for leaving just when the movie got started but that was a very expensive restaurant and reservations are hard to get… I just hope he’ll accept my apology.”

It still always threw Sam and Dean for a loop when he casually brought up the things Crowley did for him. Not even a week before were they fighting because Castiel didn’t want a new car but Crowley was insisting that his mate couldn’t drive around in the Lincoln Continental Mark V without making his alpha look stupid.

Castiel had managed to win that fight somehow because the old rumbler was still his daily driver.

Dean had jokingly remarked that Cas was like little hobo Annie and Crowley was his sugar daddy. Castiel hadn’t thought that joke was as funny as Dean thought it to be but he had cracked a smile.

They saw Cas to his car parked by the curb in front their house and called out teasingly that they hoped Crowley didn’t murder him so they could see him again. They had busted up laughing at the bleak expression on their friend’s face as they left. Dean and Sam weren’t worried about Crowley anymore, it was pretty clear that in his own weird way the loan shark was smitten with Cas.

The next few days blurred by them in the haze of unpacking. Much to Sam’s amusement, he watched as his mate took to profusely letting his scent out so the house wouldn’t smell staral to them anymore. He had encouraged Sam to let his scent out full force as well so that his scent could mark this as his home as well. Sam had been hesitant, unsure about it, but eventually Dean had coaxed him into it.

Then they both had gotten aroused from breathing in each other’s scent and had temporarily taken a break from unpack to make the bedroom smell more like them. Both extraordinarily satisfied with their house choice and future waiting ahead for them.

 

“Emma.”

Sam had started one afternoon three days after the verdict came back in their favor and John’s Kentucky sentence was extended twelve more months. Sam was then five months pregnant and it was starting to show. His mate had worried about Sam’s naggative view of himself would worsen with the physical changes to his body. “Looking more like an omega should” as an awful doctor had commented on a routine health check up. Dean had told the front desk of the hospital that if they ever tried to schedule Sam with him again, he’d probably punch him in the throat. But surprisingly, through it all Sam seemed happy most of the time and that settled the alpha’s nerves a bit.

Dean and him messily tore through sloppy Jo’s on the porch swing staring out at the fresh snow on their front lawn. Dean had been in the midst of reaching over for his beer he had sat down by his feet but sat back up to look at his mate curiously. At the mention of the name.

Sam went on, still looking out at the lawn “I think, uh, Emma would be a good name.” The alpha had seemed to stare at his mate for such a long time, Sam had cast a glance out of the corner of his eye nervously. Did he not like the name?

But then Dean had slung his arm over Sam’s shoulder and hummed happily. The sensation of satisfaction vibrating in their bond strongly. “Emma, huh? Yeah. It’s got a nice ring to it.”

Sam hadn’t said anything- Just let the peaceful silence resume between them- but he couldn’t remember feeling so happy about his life.

 

“Dean, what the do you think you’re doin’?”

The alpha looked up from the glass in his hand. Sam stood in the dark entryway of the kitchen with his arms crossed. From where Dean sat at the kitchen table. The overhead light too dim to see the annoyance on Sam’s face.

Well shit. He hadn’t thought Sam would wake up.

“I’m havin’ a drink before bed.” It came sounding a little snappy. Dean hadn’t had the greatest day and he really just wanted to drink away the bad thoughts that always creeped in on him when he was feeling low.

The omega huffed tiredly and came over to the table. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants, no shirt. The little loaf of their unborn daughter now the size of a volleyball. Sam was due any day now and both of them were growing anxious.

Anxious. Ha, that really didn’t even scratch the surface of all Dean felt. 

“Dean…” Sam paused as he took a moment to sit down across from his mate before continuing. A light tug at their bond “What’s wrong? You’ve been drinking a lot more these last two weeks. Is something bothering you?”

Sam, always the insightful one. Dean gave a shrug. His mate wasn’t supposed to be worrying about him, it wasn’t Dean who was going to have a traumatic experience happen to his body. He hadn’t liked the diagrams in the doctor's office showing the stages of a male omega going into labor. Not one bit. Sam had almost lept from the exam table in his fright. Then when they had gotten home, Sam had locked himself in the bathroom. Dean guessed he was probably trying to reevaluate his anatomy.

When no real answer for forthcoming, Sam rolled his eyes. “Are you thinking about stupid things again? You’ll be a great parent, Dean. So stop stressing out so much.

“But what if I’m absolute dogshit with kids?” Sam understood where Dean was coming from. They’d had many conversations like this one in the the span of Sam’s pregnancy and he was slowly working Dean away from those thoughts. 

It was a lot like Sam’s fear of being an omega. It was deeply rooted in Dean’s head that he’d fuck up Sam and their daughter because he was such an awful person or something stupid like that. And just as Dean was working to fix Sam’s negative view of himself, Sam was working to show Dean that no; he didn’t fuck things up all the time. Tricky part was, the alpha was stubborn as hell.

“You’ll learn- we’ll both be learning. You think I’m gonna be any better at this than you?” Dean watched that liquor slosh against the side of the cup where he idly turned it about in his hand. This- this was one of the reasons he’d fuck things up again. He was like John. When things went bad he turned to the bottle. He was stuck like that, couldn’t pull himself from it. He had tried- god had he tried.

Sam nudged Dean’s leg under the table “Hey, do you think I’m a lier or something?” A small smile started to claim the alpha’s face “Well…” “Asshole.” A similar smile curled on Sam’s lips but then he forced it down into a serious expression again. “Just… trust me Dean.”

His lip a thin line. Dean finally sat down the glass and Sam took that as his cue to stand. Dean followed the motion and caught Sam’s waist after the omega had taken the glass to the sink and dumped the contents. Sam had been waking out of the kitchen but stopped at the scent of worry on Dean. He rested his head on Sam’s shoulder and felt the soothing tug of Sam’s fingers through his short hair.

“I can’t help but act like an idiot sometimes, Sammy.”

“I think I remember telling you before that I was glad you weren’t perfect, Dean.” 

“Jesus, I feel like a sap. I’m gonna blame it on those pregnancy pheromones you’ve covered this place in.”

He pressed his lips to Sam’s marked scent gland, leaving affectionate pecks lazily across the skin there. Sam sighed shakily. “Y-you’re always a sap.” Dean could scent the pleasure on him. He wanted to do more, to ravish his mate, but Sam pulled out of his hold. A smile on his face as he left the kitchen.

It was an unspoken message to come to bed and Dean trailed after Sam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go~ More mush to come!


	60. Worth It In The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are... this is the very last chapter. Mostly Bobby’s POV.
> 
> Enjoy~!

Bobby told himself he’d only have to do this once. Just in and out and then he’d never have to deal with this ever again.

Jody had insisted on coming with him, knowing full well that when he came back to the truck there was a good chance he’d be railed up and in not the best mental mindset to drive. Of course, she had the girls to think about as well so she had given them forty bucks and dropped them off in the central market street of Louisville and told them to call her if they ran into any problems.

When Bobby didn’t move from the driver’s seat, Jody put a comforting hand on his shoulder “Bobby, it’s okay if you’re not ready. You don’t have to force yourself to see him.” In return the older alpha gave her an incredulous look “I ain’t scared of him or nothin’. I’m worried I might try to punch his lights out by busting through the glass. Then I’d get arrested and at that point I’d rather have hell open up and swallow me whole than be locked up in the same building as _him_.”

Jody let out a long breath and pulled his face around to look him in the eye. Saw his nostrils glare to take in her comforting scent before she relented and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips. It lingered, both of them not wanting to pull away but knowing that this wasn’t the time for this. Bobby and her had been doing this dance for years now, they were friends but occasionally they’d find themselves in bed, they’d even spent a couple of ruts together. 

They were content with their relationship and didn’t feel the need to complicate things with titles and bonds.

When Bobby pulled away he offered her a smile, then popped open the driver’s side door and got out. She’d wait in the car while he took care of this and then they’d be back on the road, leaving Kentucky behind for good and heading on over to Kansas. He wanted to take care of the unsavory visits beforehand so when they made the trip back to South Dakota they all would be in a better mood.

There was the metal detector upon entering the building, then he listlessly showed his visitor approval papers to the uniformed officer at the desk who looked over his papers briefly then assigned another officer to lead the way to where the visitation would happen. He was led down a long hall and into an awful, sick green colored room. There was two other people sitting at the metal chairs, talking calmly to the men on the other side. 

The guard told him which window to sit at and assured him that his brother would be ready in just a few moments. He waited impatiently, drumming his fingers on the small counter in front of the window. It was irrational, but his mind suddenly told him he shouldn’t even give John the satisfaction of seeing him ever again. He ditched those thoughts, because he needed John to listen to him- fucking hear him and _understand_ what he said.

There was the sound of a heavy metal latch squeaking open, and the door on the other side of the glass opened. John looked much older than the last time Bobby had seen him. Sometime around Dean’s fifteenth birthday. The beige prison scrubs weren’t helping his skin look less leathery from being in the sun too much.

Looking at the rough life his step brother had taken made Bobby feel good about himself. Hell, he had a good seven years on this bozo but he looked like he could be the younger of two.

“The years have not been kind.” Bobby finally said, when they had both grabbed up phones. John gave a huff of a laugh “Missed you too, Bobby.” Except… Bobby hadn’t missed him. Not even a little. John had always been a shit from the very day he could speak in full sentences.

The prisoner couldn’t smell the anger in Bobby’s scent through the glass but John could see that his brother hadn’t come to shoot the shit with him. South Dakota to Kentucky was a long ass drive- two days long. Whatever he had come to say was important enough though, he could see it in the hard set of his jaw.

So John stopped pretending that Bobby was here for moral support. 

“Dean went and told you what happened, huh?”

The older alpha stiffened but kept an indifferent expression “Yep. That’s actually the only reason why I’m here.”

“The whole thing was a fucking set up, Bobby!” He raised his voice then looked back to the guard behind him and quieted but not without malice dripping from each word “Dean _coned **me**_. He set up the attack in the alley with the bitch just so I could look like a jackass. Then he goes and bonds the bitc-“ 

“You _are_ a jackass, John. A through and through cold hearted knothead who gives us decent alphas a bad name.” 

John’s mouth hung open, mid rant cut off by Bobby’s calm words, saying everything matter a factly. Good. Bobby was just getting started.

“I didn’t come here to listen to you bellyache. I came here to tell you that I wish they’d lock you up for life. I wish you’d just stay in your cell and rot away, you know why?”

John sneered “Bobby-“

“Because, you, John Winchester, don’t deserve to live after what you did to your mate, Mary- yeah, I know about her. Didn’t just up n’ leave you, did she?- you don’t deserve anything after what you did to Dean and his mate-“

“ _The bitch and Dean fucking lied in court! They said I threatened their piece of shit b-_ ”

Bobby growled in warning and he felt the guard against the back wall approach him. It was a young beta, but he had probably sense the intensifying anger between the two and had come over to watch more carefully. Not that there was anyway they could attack each other physically through the bullet proof glass. 

“Is everything alright, sir?” Bobby gave the guard a smile that even he knew was fake as shit “Everything’s fine. Just finishin’ up.” The guard nodded and took several steps back. Bobby looked back at John, both more in control of their emotions.

“I never really saw you as my brother, ya know.” Bobby started and John scowled “Right back at cha.”

“Then this should be pretty easy for you to understand; You are not my family, you ain’t my buddy. I never want to see you again- When you get out in two years nobody’s gonna be waiting for you, your gonna be out on your ass like every other time you get booked, but you ain’t gonna come crawlin’ back to Dean or me. If either of us even see you lurkin’ around like you do, you’re goin’ right back to the slammer.”

John sat back in his chair, glaring at the other alpha. He extended the phone to the holder but then thought of something nasty to say and put it back up to his face, looking Bobby dead in the eye as he leaned towards the glass “Fuck you.”

‘Fuck you’? That’s the best last jab John had? Bobby gave an amused puff of laughter. On the inside, he wanted to rip this piece of shit to smithereens, he wanted to call him ever filthy name he knew (and he knew _a lot_ ) but that would only sooth John’s shot pride.

He didn’t say anything else, he hung up the phone, offered the other alpha his middle finger with a satisfied smile on his face and then walked off.

Jody didn’t say anything when Bobby first climbed back into the truck. It was summer now and she had kept the windows down and fanned herself with a junk mail envelope she’d found on the floor. She studied him carefully as he stared out the front window at the prison. Then he said with all seriousness he could muster “I really hope he chokes on dinner tonight and dies. That’s pretty messed up, huh?”

Jody didn’t reply, just watched as her friend tried to gather his mind once more. 

“Want me to drive?” 

Bobby offered a quick smile before turning the engine over “Nah, believe it or not I feel great.”

They had picked up Alex and Claire who had spent the free time at some arcade restaurant and were even considerate enough to pick out Jody and Bobby a mood ring and a plastic compass with the tickets they had earned. Bobby had teased them about not being good enough to get them better presents, but he tucked the compass in his pocket for safe keeping.

Clair had blamed Alex for sucking at arcade games and Alex had shot back that it was because arcade games were for kids not for a pair of sixteen year olds. Then there had been the start of a fight but Jody had turned to look at them in the back seat with a warning growl and their yelling died out but not before Claire showed Alex her teeth. The beta wasn’t scared at all so with a growl of frustration, Claire pulled her headphones out of her bag and shoved them in her ears.

It took them nine hours to make it to Lawrence with several pit stops along the way. One of which was for Bobby and Jody to switch seats because Bobby had had already driven all the night before to get them to Louisville. She could handle driving five hours of the trip no problem. Bobby had tipped his hat over his eyes to block out the sun and took a nap. Alex fell asleep soon after but Claire stayed up, her earbuds blasting music so loudly that by the end of the road trip Jody knew half the lyrics to the ten songs her daughter had been playing on loop.

Sam felt bad that all Dean and him could offer was the yet to be used nursery and the couch. But Jody had reassured him over the phone that it was fine. Jody and the girls on the roll out bed mates Dean had for whenever someone wanted to crash at his previous apartment. Those would be in the nursery and Bobby would take the couch, which Sam had all but drowned in scent neutralizer air freshener. They arrived at eight-thirty and the sun had just sunk no more than twenty minutes prior. Summer days drawing out the sun for longer and longer periods of time.

Alex and Claire moaned and groaned as they climbed out of the truck, stretching the cramps out of their limbs. Bobby didn’t even have to knock before the door was opened for them by Dean.

“Man, I thought I heard a stampede. You guys’re shit at stealth.” Bobby rolled his eyes “We weren’t trying to be stealthy, idjit.” Dean smiled and opened the door further for them, revealing the little bundle of blue in his arms. Jody and her girls had reached the door then, just as Bobby crossed the threshold and they followed in behind. All eyes skimming over the house just to be drawn to the bundle the alpha was holding to his chest gently.

“I’d hug you guys if I didn’t have my arms full already.” Bobby sat down his bag on the floor by the door. It was late June now and from the frantic yet excited call he had gotten from Dean at four in the morning five days prior, this was his grand niece, Emma. A surge of emotion overwhelmed Bobby but he hid it pretty well behind a deep exhale but he felt so much, and didn’t think he even wanted to play the hard old man.

“Where’s Sam?” Jody asked in almost a whisper, her eyes glued to the baby, still hidden from their sight. Dean led them towards the living room explaining that Sam’s immune system was still weak after the delivery and he had caught a fever the night before. 

“Oh, poor, kid.” Jody meant it to. 

“Dean’s making it sound a lot worse than it actually is.” 

They looked over as Sam entered the living room from the hall. Jody took notice to the fine shine of sweat on his forehead but other than that, the omega looked healthy. He hugged her and Bobby before going to where Dean was contently rocking the swaddled lump in his arms back and forth. He reluctantly let Sam take her from him.

Sam smiled down at his sleeping daughter then looked to Bobby, biting at his lip, “Do you want to hold her?” That made Bobby scoff, an amused smile playing out on his lips and holding out his arms “I didn’t drive over three-hundred miles to just look at my grand niece.” 

“Actually, Bobby…” Dean started and then stopped, rubbing at his stubbled chin “Well, you always been like a dad to me more than… so I was thinkin’ you could be, her grandpa.” 

That made Claire, who had just been watching the whole scene from the back of the room bust out a laugh “Man, at least with great uncle you can get away with it but when you get stuck with a title like Grandpa you just gotta accept that you’re old.” Bobby scowled but still took the baby from Sam, careful to support her head in the crook of his elbow and sat down on the couch.

“My joints already told me I was old about a decade ago.” Then to Dean, expression softening just a little “You ain’t just tryin’ to make me feel old, are you?” The made Dean laugh “No, Bobby. I’m not pulling your leg.” Again, there was that swell of emotion and he gave a curt nod.

Jody was asking them about how things had been going for them since the move, but Bobby was pushing back the blue blanket and staring down at the tiny rosy face of Emma Winchester. Her eyes closed against the world but her jaw working in small back and forth motion. There was a tuff of short blond hair on the top of her head and if her eyes were open, Bobby was sure he’d be staring at those unreadable shade of irises that belonged to Sam. She was so perfect, it was extraordinary.

“For being a couple of knuckleheads you sure know how to make one stunning kid.”

Sam scrunched his eyebrows together, unsure if he should take that as a compliment at first but then a smile spread across his face “Thanks, Bobby” it was said almost as a question and Jody smiled from where she was looking over the back of the couch with Alex and Claire, down into the bundle in Bobby’s arms “Really, she’s beautiful, boys.”

Claire looked up and caught Sam’s eyes, she gave an awkward tight lipped smile and the nod of her head “She’s cute.” 

Later, after everyone else was asleep, Sam found himself wide awake. Staring up at the ceiling. He did this every once and a while and if Dean knew he would probably tell him to not think like that but Sam didn’t think this sort of thought was as dangerous as others could be. 

Sometimes, late at night, when he laid in wrapped up around Dean, the fan over head trying to cool them down from the uncomfortably warm nights… Sam would replay the worst of the worst moments in their relationship. Then he’d look over to the side of the bed and see the outline of Emma’s crib in the dark. There weren’t nearly enough ‘worst of the worst’ moments to come close to not being worth it to create his and and Dean’s daughter. She wasn’t planned and at one point it had felt as though her possible existence was driving a wedge between Dean and him. But in the end she had pulled them together through some of the roughest situations. 

He loved her. They both did,

Dean rolled over in his sleep, snoring lightly and put an arm around his mate. Sam snuggled back into Dean’s arms. Right here, right now made all the trials they had faced along the way completely worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking around to the very end. This has been a long journey and I hope you believe it was worth the wait to see Sam and Dean reach the happiness they deserve.
> 
> If you have any final thoughts on this story, go right ahead, I’d love to read your thoughts on it.
> 
> Well, I guess this is the end. I hope to see you around for more supernatural stories I do in the future~

**Author's Note:**

> So? How is it so far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!


End file.
